I cheated in school. Now I run one.
Confession: I cheated in school. Many times.
😮
The first time I can remember cheating was in 8th grade in my US History class. For our final exam, the teacher (let’s call her Mrs. M) gave us a take-home test with very specific instructions: “Do not just any reference material. Set aside 50 minutes alone to complete it.”
We had a weekend to complete it.
I had forgotten about the test and only remembered it a couple hours before it was due. I frantically found an area away from everyone during lunch, pulled out the test and my class textbook.
Fifteen minutes left in lunch and I’m feeling pretty good about being able to finish.
Right then, she walks by.
Mrs. M looks down at me with a stare that I will never forget. “What are you doing?” she says. 😠
My heart sinks. 😧 I go completely silent. The test is right in front of her. The textbook is out. There is no way to cover it up.
I scramble for an answer only to mutter some nonsense.
She walks away, clearly angry. 😡 Shaking, I put the textbook away and finish up the test.
My final exam grade in the class: F.
Up until that point, I had an A.
What I know is that many of the students in my class cheated on that exam. Why wouldn’t they? We had a weekend to take the test. They had to find a bunch of dates and names for a history exam. What was the incentive to not cheat?
I got caught that day.
But it didn’t stop me from cheating again. I copied homework, built a network of friends so I wouldn’t get surprised by a “pop quiz”, and found ways to get hints on upcoming tests, among other tactics.
Somehow I had to maintain my 4.0 GPA.
For the most part, I followed the system’s rules. The classes weren’t all that challenging. I could cram and get by. I was mostly consumed with lecture boredom. But when I found it a struggle, I had to figure out how to beat the game.
The issue is it’s a game with the wrong structure and incentives. I wasn’t on a journey to learn and find my passion. I was there to complete homework, pass tests, follow instructions, ace the SAT, and get into a top-notch University.
So I worked to do just that.
So do the majority of students. In a 2008 survey, 64% admitted to cheating. It’s not all that surprising actually.
Our K-12 incentive system is all wrong. It’s purely based on extrinsic rewards. We hang a carrot called “College” and expect students to be scared of the sticks — “Bad grades”. We incentivize kids to pass tests and do great on the SAT.
I cheated because I didn’t want the bad grade. It had nothing to do with a desire to learn — the structure told me grades are important, not learning.
Our focus needs to be on the intrinsic love of learning — and not simply “learning to know”, but also “learning to do”, “learning to be”, and “learning to learn”.
We need to revolutionize our education system. There are people working on it. The leading educators I know recognize what a flawed system we have… especially now in the information age.
Looking for a place to learn more? Start with this interview of Alfie Kohn where he says: “The more I reward a child with grades, for example, the less appeal those subjects will have to the child. It is one of the most thoroughly researched findings in social psychology, yet it is virtually unknown among educational psychologists, much less teachers and parents.”
Then check out other books like “Most likely to succeed” by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith and “Courage to Grow” by Laura Sandefer.
Who is ready to confess today? How did you cheat? What made you do it?
#Education #ReimagineEducation #FutureofEducation #Learning #School #Schools
To Mrs. M or any of my HS teachers that may read this…. I’m sorry. It’s the system, it’s not you. I know most of you were passionate about helping your students grow and learn.
Varun Bhatia is founder of Acton Academy Columbus, a learner-driven / student-centered private school in Columbus, OH. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
