Why Are Honor Codes Wrong

Some argue that honor codes are unsuccessful, others argue that these codes are successful in minimizing the amount of cheating or plagiarizing. This difference can oftentimes be discovered in educational systems from elementary to college. Honor codes should be established because they decrease the act of dishonesty, they establish a more efficient and educational environment, and they are able to be established in any kind of school environment. Some people believe that honor codes wouldn't do anything to better school environment. Students at Harvard school in Dirmeyer and Cartwright's article on honor codes say they, “”. (are skeptical that signing a piece of paper will suddenly cause a cheater to change their ways” (Dirmeyer and Cartwright.) Then it goes on to say in their article that an honor codes which is enforced by students can reduce the outcome of someone cheating. Students involvement could definitely lead other students to be honest because they don't want to go through the embarrassment of being caught and told on which could lead to a decrease of dishonesty. Like in McCabe and Pavela’s article it says, ” The highest levels of cheating …show more content…
Students at Lawrence Academy criticize their code because it was, “a requirement for students to write a pledge of honor on every piece of submitted work” (Vangelli.) They didn't like the fact that they were basically forced to honor the code every time they did work so, they changed the code and a pledge was only required once every term but they were responsible for their honesty. Previously stated in the Dirmeyer and Cartwright’s article student involvement in the system could help establish a better environment because students would not want to tell one other classmates. Therefore student influence would help others want to be honest and maintain their values which could lead to a more successful school environment and a more easy-going