May 17 2008
Bad Decision Making In College Is Expensive
Well, the end of semester crunch has caught up with a couple of students in one of the classes I teach. A major research project that has been ongoing throughout the semester was a favorite learning experience for many, but a stumbling block for a few. The assignment was called “The Dead Artist Project” and the task was to research a famous person in the arts who died before they were born.
Most of the students selected someone they were interested in but knew little about, making the research meaningful and worthwhile. Two in the class decided to short-circuit the learning experience by cutting and pasting a hodge-podge of information found on websites on the internet. Because it was a final project, I had the unpleasant task of dealing with this duo right when I should be celebrating the conclusion of another great semester
But I keep reminding myself that I do no favors by rescuing or excusing this behavior. These are college students, one step away from being in the “real world.” As Charles Fay of the Love and Logic Institute puts it, the price tag for poor decision making is low when kids are small, but it goes up as they get older. In college, we are talking significant costs in terms of time and money.
I am thankful that at K-State we have an “Honor System” which provides a meaningful learning experience for students who do not understand the importance of integrity. The focus is on education, not punishment. All K-State students take the honor pledge which states they have not received unauthorized aid. When students violate this pledge, there are a number of things that can occur. My students will have to take a Development and Integrity course to help them understand the error of their ways. This course will cost them both time and money. Unless they take the D & I course, they will fail my course and a “XF” grade indicating a failure due to honor violation will remain on their transcripts.
I discussed the situation with each student privately and neither would directly admit to any wrong-doing. However they had plenty of excuses for the behavior such as pressures with work and family. When I told one student that the English faculty would call this “plagiarism” the student actually replied, “I would never write like that in their classes.” Wow, you didn’t do anything wrong, but you know not to do it that way in an English class. What’s wrong with this picture?
As a rookie teacher, chances are good I would have looked for ways to rescue these students, letting the excuses sway me from allowing the natural consequences to happen. But lately, I have really been working on doing not what is easy or feels good, but instead on doing what is best for students. Unfortunately for these students, they have been allowed to go through life without experiencing enough consequences of bad decision making; and the price tag has gone up.
