In our society abiding by rules is the foundation of daily life. According to the article, “School Cheating Scandal Test a Town’s Values,” published by the New York Times and written by Jodi Wilgoren, the contrary can be said. What started out as a decade long tradition of collecting and analyzing leaves for a sophomore botany project soon turned into a “plagiarism scandal that [would] riven [the] tight-knit community” (200) encompassing Piper High. Mrs. Pelton, the biology teacher, discovered one-fourth of the completed projects were “laced with lifted material” (201). Punishment for such an infraction had been clearly stated at the beginning of the semester as part of the assignment outline distributed by Mrs. Pelton and signed by the students
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They “fretted that the school’s dwindling reputation might result in a decline in property values and disappearance of scholarship opportunities” (200). These parents were nothing but bullies who were too blinded by their own selfishness to see how their actions were being viewed by the young minds they were in charge of forming.
Fortunately, not all of the parents had the same reaction and used this as an opportunity to teach their children about integrity and honesty. “You can stand up for your kids when it’s right, but when it’s wrong you can’t bail your child out, said Diane Smith” (202). Although Diane was joined by teachers, students, and other parents in a quest to convince the Piper school board to allow the earned grades to remain; ultimately, the board decided against them.
The Piper school boards’ skewed decision was unjustified. It was based more on keeping the schools reputation intact rather than adhering to preset guidelines and rules. “I don’t think the board should have that much power; they really out-stepped their boundaries” said Smith (202). Mrs. Pelton was later commanded to adjust her grading policy and the weight of the project to reflect the boards’ decision. The bullies had won.
Honesty should always prevail… unless you’re a student at Piper
They “fretted that the school’s dwindling reputation might result in a decline in property values and disappearance of scholarship opportunities” (200). These parents were nothing but bullies who were too blinded by their own selfishness to see how their actions were being viewed by the young minds they were in charge of forming.
Fortunately, not all of the parents had the same reaction and used this as an opportunity to teach their children about integrity and honesty. “You can stand up for your kids when it’s right, but when it’s wrong you can’t bail your child out, said Diane Smith” (202). Although Diane was joined by teachers, students, and other parents in a quest to convince the Piper school board to allow the earned grades to remain; ultimately, the board decided against them.
The Piper school boards’ skewed decision was unjustified. It was based more on keeping the schools reputation intact rather than adhering to preset guidelines and rules. “I don’t think the board should have that much power; they really out-stepped their boundaries” said Smith (202). Mrs. Pelton was later commanded to adjust her grading policy and the weight of the project to reflect the boards’ decision. The bullies had won.
Honesty should always prevail… unless you’re a student at Piper