Sakshi Venkatraman
News Editor
@oompapa1

“Cheaters never prosper.” It is an age-old adage that most of us were brought up with since kindergarten.

However, experiencing high school in one of the most academically challenging districts in the state of Texas, many students are discovering that the proverbial phrase might not hold much meaning anymore. Cheating has become a livelihood for students of all grade levels and a method for making the grade without taking time to learn the information.

But what leaves many teachers confused is that it is no longer the lazy, undedicated learners who cheat out of apathy. It is, in fact, the opposite, as the modern era has given rise to a new breed of cheater: the overly-dedicated, hardworking one who will do anything and mow down anyone to achieve his desired grade.

My advice to anyone looking for the root of the problem: stop, reevaluate, forget everything you think you know. The classic approaches to “getting around the system”- subtle peeks to the left and right, a piece of paper taped to a shoe, answers written on an arm – are long dead. Students need only know the right people and they can walk into any test knowing all the answers in order, plus how to show adequate work for each problem.

It is a desperate shade of grey, one that cannot be overcome by any one person. There is questions society must ask itself again: Why do kids cheat?

It is clear that laziness is not the only factor in any of these situations. What is indubitable is that the body of learners who engage in this black market care about every aspect of school except the education part of it. Education is in the back seat of the car being driven by grade point average and class rank. It is plain and simple: students who cheat do not care about learning anymore.

Learning nowadays feels more about speed than about actually educating ourselves. When I go home every evening, I hardly worry about the material I am studying but I worry relentlessly about how much time it will take me to do it and how long I will have to stay up to get all my homework done.

Competition is fierce and I can say from experience that many teachers do not understand the half of it. Work, upon work, upon work creates an environment in which dedicated students who want to be successful have to sacrifice most of their time and life to schoolwork and homework.

I spend more hours working in a day than my mom does. The only difference is, I get paid in GPA points, not in cash. This is in no way using pressure to justify cheating, just to provide a new perspective to adults who have the misconception that all cheaters are immoral people who conspire to tear down their classmates’ to push themselves up.

Although I have no doubt there are some people like that, most cheating arises from a place of utter desperation. When it is 2 a.m. on a Monday night, you are barraged with homework and feel like you have not slept in days, studying for a test is most likely the last thing on your mind.

The best people can make the worst choices when they feel they have no other option.

Another thing to keep in mind: cheating breeds more cheating. Because of academic pressures, students feel that if others are getting answers, they should too so as to not be at a disadvantage when it comes to a curve on the test or a certain question that is harder than the others. The scramble to get the answers may come from students who feel the subject matter was not taught properly or fully. Feeling weak on a topic is just another stimulus to use other means to get through the test or quiz.

Cheating is not justifiable and students are aware of that just the same as they were five or ten years ago. Higher standards for success and lower care for education creates an aura of apathy towards the rules. What starts as cheating may bloom and grow into a distance from the true objective of education: learning.

When choosing between sleep, grades and moral standing, many students have made their choice.