Letter to the Editors
The news lately has been abuzz with the cheating scandals involving applications for college entrance as well as those regarding SAT testing. Diamond Bar High School’s Bull’s Eye newspaper recently published an investigative piece, “Offering Tests Under the Veil of Guidance.” This article exposes a cheating scandal within our own community: tutoring centers knowingly providing students with advance copies of tests for classes at DBHS.
As a local tutoring center that has been mentoring students over the past 25 years, we at Keystone Education want to make it perfectly clear that tutoring, when approached properly, does not equate with cheating.
Certainly, we are often confronted with questions from anxious parents and nervous students about how to achieve a strong GPA and score high on the SAT. And the advertising from other test prep companies often promotes shortcuts and test-taking “tricks” as quick solutions. There is no such thing.
Learning, acquiring knowledge, constructing an edifice within the architecture of your brain – edification – is hard work. It takes time, focus, and concentrated effort. At Keystone Education, this has always been our guiding philosophy. Our mission has always been to assist students in reaching their educational goals, not by any means necessary, but by painstakingly helping them build strong foundations in English and math so that they are fully prepared for the challenges they will face in high school and beyond. Our students come to realize that the process of truly learning a subject cannot be replaced by last minute cramming. Or cheating.
Unfortunately, in competitive school districts such as ours, the pressure to cheat is especially intense. As educators, we have a responsibility to guide both parents and students toward the proper path.
We must continue to stress the importance of actual learning. Those who cheat may never get caught, but they will be left unprepared for the rigors of college-level academics. Likewise, top careers require solid skills for advancement and success. As part of our counseling program, we challenge students to understand that they are learning for their futures, not just to ace a test or pass a class.
We are proud of the Diamond Bar High School students who have exhibited the courage to stand for what is right. They are the role models who give us hope for the future of our youth. Our world today faces many challenges, but we must always denounce dishonesty and encourage others to do the same. Unethical shortcuts are not an option.
Diane Sartor
Director, Keystone Education
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