my life

Diana,

I always thought that plagiarism was grounds for expulsion, so I consider anything less to be lenient. To give the kid a shot at passing the class is _very_ generous. My question to you is this: what lesson do you want Ted AND YOUR OTHER STUDENTS to take away from this – aside frrom “don’t do it"? Will the consequences be the same for the second student you catch? There will be a second one, you know. Maybe not on this paper, but I’m willing to bet real money there will be another one this year, unless the consequences are dire enough.

Since Ted is a freshman, I can understand not wanting to expel him two months into the year, but … the more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to think he needs his ass kicked _hard_, and in public.

I’ll bet that if you polled your students as to what they think should (hypothetically) happen to someone like Ted, they would overwhelmingly vote for more drastic action than what you’ve described.

… but then, I was raised by a rigid control freak.

I’m so sorry you have to deal with this so early in your teaching career.

We’ll be waiting with baited breath to see how this plays out.

Kathy

Hi, Kathy. :)

I’ve always felt the same about plagiarism, to be honest. From the standpoint of a student who has always done her own work, I have no pity for another student who didn’t put in the time and effort I did.

I have a slightly different viewpoint as a teacher, or at least I’m trying to. I believe people can learn from their mistakes and be better people for it. I suppose the question now is, is plagiarism a mistake a student can grow from? If so, how can that growth be encouraged?

Or is it something that simply needs to be crushed mercilessly?

Why?

d

Diana,

You always ask the hard questions. I do think that whatever you decide, it should be something you’re willing to apply to every student in your class.

I assume that software allows a real teacher to review the documents that Ted is alleged to have plagiarized? I’d hate to think a man’s career is on the line just because a computer said so. (I know computers; that’s why I don’t trust ‘em.)

If the allegation is true I’d be inclined to fail Ted on the spot. He’s had enough warnings. Beside your edict, he should know from his previous schooling that it’s Just Not Done. The Academy’s not a community college; he didn’t just walk in off the street and sit down at a desk.

However…

When Dad taught radioman school for the Navy he’d have several students every year who’d mess up in one way or another. (Nothing of this gravity, however.) In many cases he’d give them a second chance; those that deserved it passed without further incident, those that didn’t messed up again and he gave them the boot.

Dave

Talk about mixed messages…. :)

Good advice, though: make sure it’s something I’d be willing to do with every student in my class (for the same infraction). That curbs the tendency to play favorites.

I’m torn between “throw the book at him” and “give him a second chance with no-kidding punishment.”

Hrm.

d

Diana,

Sorry to talk out of both sides of my mouth like that, but without knowing the whole story (i.e. Ted’s side of it) I’m reluctant to give a single answer. My “shoot from the hip” answer is to fail him and move on. But I never was very good at hitting the target without taking careful aim.

Dave

After another night to sleep on it, I’ve decided I’ll just fail him. Here’s why:

1. I don’t care what his presumed “intent” was or what excuse he produces. He cited no sources on his Works Cited page which convinces me he didn’t mean to credit his sources and just forgot the quote marks. Also, if he quoted all his sources properly, there would be almost nothing on the paper that he himself said.

2. The Academy presumably has higher expectations of its students than your average college, particularly as regards honor and integrity. Ted has lied, cheated and stolen all in one fell swoop. In addition to failing him from my course outright, I will recommend he not be retained.

3. Rehabilitation is not my job. It is his. In order for him to take this seriously, I have a duty to him (as well as to the Academy and the AF) to show him how serious it is. If he gets the message, he will rehabilitate himself; if he does not, lesser punishment won’t help.

4. I don’t have time or inclination to continue to work with a student who has so far overstepped the bounds.

5. The student already failed himself, as far as I’m concerned. I’m just giving him the appropriate grade.

I’ll check with my course director and boss for clarification tomorrow, but I’m quite sure I’m well within my rights to simply fail him out of the course. If that doesn’t send the message, nothing will.

d

Diana,

Encouraging personal responsibility. I like that.

A question for my own curiosity, not really germane to the current topic (at least, not yet). If a cadet is expelled from the Academy, what is his relatonship with the Air Force? Is he obligated to serve a minimum term? Or is he discharged?

Dave

Within the first two years, he is released with no strings attached. As a matter of fact, a cadet can be a stellar student for the first two years at the Academy decide to leave of his own volition and have no service commitment or money to repay.

After that, there’s a service commitment of some sort, but I don’t know exactly how it works.

d

Hi Diana, 8-)

As usual, your decision and reasons show (to us at least) that you’ve thought this through pretty carefully. You’ve answered your own questions clearly and succinctly - way better than I could ever have done. Don’t expect any credit from the kid (or his family) for the care you took in making this decision though.

I for one would have loved to be a fly on your office wall this morning. I realize confidentiality has to be respected, but I do wonder what sort of a defence he concocted over the weekend.

K

Ah. Well.

I learnt that I can fail him for the paper but haven’t much latitude to fail him for the course unless I see a trend of some sort. His other written work checked out. Thus, I have an 82% plagiarism case.

He sat in my office completely undisturbed when I showed him the printout from turnitin.com that showed that he’d given me little over one sentence he’d written himself (and I question that). He said (shrugging nonchalantly), “I don’t know what to say. I read a lot of sites when I write a paper. I didn’t cut and paste.”

Um. Right. He must have a photographic memory the Guiness Book Of World Records would be interested in.

The honor rep (a friend of mine who was present) and I both urged him to reconsider this position, as it was clear to us that this was blatant plagiarism. He maintained his innocence–without a hint of fear.

Out of our hands. Until the honor board decides what to do, he remains in my class and will write the paper properly–knowing he will get a 0, but must write the paper in order to have hope of passing my course.

I’m absolutely appalled at the baldfaced lies I heard today, as is the honor rep.

(All weekend and that’s the best you can do? How did you get into the Academy?)

d

Hi Diana,

Never having attended the academy (ROTC was awesome) I have no idea how the honor board works. Can you tell us about it?

Ever since reading this, I’ve been talking with all the people in my office (I’m an exec to an O-6) and they all think he should be kicked out.

Keep us posted!

Patrick

I’ve seen my kid send her papers through some on-line plagarism. It made me wonder what kind of comparison it did. I figured it looked for phrases or sentences or paragraphs taken verbatim or nearly so. I haven’t even now really investigated it, I just found it curious that the school had her doing it; she has to turn in whatever certificiate it provides as part of her paper.

My boy was caught, and subsequently failed the paper and nearly failed the class, when he took what resulted in a ten-line paper in its entirety from a website, adding only one line to the conculsion. This was found, the teacher told us, by looking at one of these sites.

I hesitate to condemn a fellow because he used materials found elsewhere. Really, if we didn’t experience whatever is being written about, we all regurgitate whatever it is we read or otherwise research. I’ve taken entire blocks of text from other sources, adequately credited the source and noted it as a quote, and been comended for my efforts. I suppose if the credit’s missing, that’s the core of plagarism.

As for the specific individual, this goes deep into the institution. My vote is to hold these potential officers very tightly to these high standards. Give the fellow a chance to explain his use of the sources, and if they are legitimate but poorly credited references, cut him a little slack, but still suffer him the consequences of an incomplete or late paper. If the explanations smack of excuse or admission of plagarism, hand him over to the honor board and let him suffer those consequences.

These students, to not be too kitch, are supposed to be the best of our best. It takes some incredible bits to get into the Academy in the first place. I concede that the pressure must be intense. This seems a symptom of not being able to handle the pressure.

Of course, I didnt’ read all of the comments before I posted; just the meat of the article. I see that I got my two-cents in after the axe fell.

After reading that it wasn’t just a case of missing credit for prior work, I think you did the right thing.

Are you kidding? Give him both barrels and see where the chips fall. These guys (and gals) all knew what they signed up for when they entered the academy. Sympathy is found between two other nasty words in the dictionary. Is his position tenable for a freshman? Maybe at a junior college. Not a academy. Sorry, but where Kathy hinted it would be controlling, I would say “Yup. that’s the goal”
I know that I had ABSOLUTELY no tolorance (Not to go there again) when it came to another Cadet even thinking about cheating (or plagerism) as the case may be. It’s true you will have a significant impact on this kids future if he gets booted. But then the system is set up so only so many of them will get through anyway. What if his plagerism gets him through and some honest kid falls below the minimum. When I was at USSMA the dean put out a memo (and being federal public knowledge we found it quickly) that said our class was not experiencing the attrition we should, so all professors please increase the difficulty of testing to more will fail. Wow! You wanna see kids run for the hills. There was not a study group for 2 quarters - every man for himself. The good news is that he didn’t get caught in his 1st Class year - That’s a tough one.

Love,
Rog

Hi Roger,

Just to clarify: I wasn’t suggesting that _Diana_ would be too controlling if she booted the kid. I just threw in the “rigid control freak” line to explain where _I_ was coming from, in case I seemed a bit harsh.

K

Kathy,
I didn’t think you were being harsh enough! But then I’m an admitted control freak as well. And that’s what we train these kids to accept and even become. (not that delegation isn’t a requesite as well)

Rog

Ted began to show signs of stress in front of the cadet “investigating committee,” if that’s what you call them. Not much, mind you, but I can now see signs of strain and, yes, mild concern on his part. He came in and admitted that he’d either been lazy or stupid, but that he had not understood that even using ideas from his sources was plagiarism. He claimed to have gone to other online sources to get his ideas (and admitted not citing them as he now realizes he should have) then claimed he had not seen the essay in question online nor had he ever accessed this source.

Oh, wait a minute. There’s more. Allow me to fill you in.

In prep for this meeting (called the “formal clarification"), I typed into Google the first line of the essay he’d turned in hard copy for a grade and it took me straight to GradeSaver.com (ClassicNotes). The entire essay was there. (The electronic copy he’d submitted to me when I asked for it was different from the hard copy). It turns out that the hard copy was 6 full pages of lifted material directly from the same source with the exception of 37 words, which he’d changed. He’d also obviously removed references to professional critics, as well as some of the words I forbid my students to use (the easy ones to remove, that is; it was too much work to get the more difficult ones out, which was most of them).

When I took showed this evidence to the honor cadets, the main one–the firstie who was leading the proceedings–told Ted pointblank (twice) that he thought he was lying. The firstie was trying to decide whether the lie should be pursued through a separate honor board….

About that point, Ted began to show some stress.

The jury of his peers will have no pity. I’m quite sure of it. (If they do, I wonder what would be necessary, then, to prove plagiarism: a videotape of him in action cutting and pasting then revising and handing it in shot by the pope himself?)

d

Diana,

Evil hates the light of day. As long as you and he were the only ones that knew about his transgression he could keep his nerve. Word’s getting out now.

I wonder if his parents know about the trouble he’s in.

Dave

Any further developments? I’m on tenterhooks.

Hi, Judy. :)

No. Nothing. This could draw out for months, from what my colleagues* have told me.

* This sounds so inclusive when Maj Lovrak uses it in reference to all of us in the department, even those of us she outranks both militarily and academically. Somehow, it feels mildly pretentious when I use it. Hm.

I’ll let y’all know when more develops and what comes of it. I can say, however, that Ted is still in my class, having chosen to not WF (withdraw failing). He may pass my class, but does not have much of a shot at a good grade, even with my unbiased-as-possible grading.

d

Hi diana, this is mnala.

Our department here uses turnitin. It amazes me that students KNOW that they can be discovered yet still plagarize. Then, like you described, they deny, deny, deny.