A 2004 report from the Carnegie foundation stated that, “90 percent of high school students cheat” (Robbins, 96). In her non-fiction novel, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, Alexandra Robbins discusses several negative aspects of the American education system. One major theme throughout the novel is cheating. Robbins explores the theme of cheating among overachievers by using direct commentary as well as student examples in order to emphasize the popularity and commonality of cheating among these students. One student Robbins introduces us to in the novel is Sam. Sam is not your typical cheater. “He is a good-hearted, genuine guy, smart and talented, and generally concerned about doing the right thing” (95), but even the
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Sam was forced to do an assignment for Modern World at the last minute because, “he just hadn’t found the time to come up for air, what with all of his other assignments and activities” (Robbins, 94). Because he had put off this assignment for so long and had so little time to complete it, he resorted to cheating. He produced a fake interview with an imaginary Muslim rather than honestly doing the assignment. And when he got online, he found that many of his classmates had done this as well. Many students lives are so consumed with activities and school work that they often feel like they must resort to cheating in order to complete everything that they have been assigned. When faced with two options of either cheating or failing, cheating will win nearly every time. Students can’t risk not doing assignments because that could result in unsatisfactory grades, which often seems
Sam was forced to do an assignment for Modern World at the last minute because, “he just hadn’t found the time to come up for air, what with all of his other assignments and activities” (Robbins, 94). Because he had put off this assignment for so long and had so little time to complete it, he resorted to cheating. He produced a fake interview with an imaginary Muslim rather than honestly doing the assignment. And when he got online, he found that many of his classmates had done this as well. Many students lives are so consumed with activities and school work that they often feel like they must resort to cheating in order to complete everything that they have been assigned. When faced with two options of either cheating or failing, cheating will win nearly every time. Students can’t risk not doing assignments because that could result in unsatisfactory grades, which often seems