They Just Cheat

abranchiate
anemometer
coarctate
descant
antagonistic
succinct
platyrrhine
anthography
esthesiometer
acoumeter

That was the list. I knew anemometer, descant, succinct, and...yeah...those for sure. Meaning, I could give you an exact definition right now verbatim. There are a few I knew I could figure out if I had definitions. All the "meter" words measure things, etc. So, when I handed the list out to a colleague's class for them to match with definitions I thought it would take longer than .08 seconds for them to turn it in. These are all kids from a school that we've been struggling to push over the hump achievement test-wise.

They forgot to turn it in in staggered intervals, though, so I gave them another exercise involving a scale and figuring out which combinations of different shaped blocks always balance a scale. They practically raced to turn it in as a unit. Identically answered. Puh.

And this is what they did. They stacked up all the papers and gave them to a couple kids. Just perfunctorily handed them over like it was SOP. The kid worked the first one then started copying the answer to the other sheets like a human Xerox. Kid passes them back out. Everyone puts their names at the top and lines up to turn them back in. Thus endeth the day and age of Ms. Scat's exercises that summarily end with A, B, C, D, or E. Writing from here on out.

So cheating is ok? It's alright? We're fine with that?

Apparently so. They expect it. I moved them around from their usual cheating groups and you'd have thought I was removing organs without anesthesia. "Why you got to mess with me like this?" "This sucks!" "Damn, _____!" Oh, yes. Everything including one student apparently sprouted a hand ailment that necessitated his current seating arrangement next to a particular girl. That was almost funny enough to make me crack a smile.

I could send them to ISS or the office, but why? Nothing is enforced. They get away with this everywhere. I don't suppose anyone wonders why they have so much difficulty with larger infractions, but guys. It starts here. And elsewhere. Last week they did this while taking a test. It was next to impossible to keep their eyes on their same table much less their same paper. Then there was the use of devices to search for answers, etc.

So, note to self. Keep a nice, juicy writing assignment ready for fourth period law since it most likely will come around again and I really want to see the group paragraph that is produced.

Disenchanted with current generation and their custodians.
Scat