Columnist Dan Bernstein has some harsh words for teachers who cheat on tests (free sub required):
Suppose you're a student at Riverside's Sierra Middle School, and you've wrapped up another round of state tests and it comes out that one of your teachers changed the answers on 78 of those exams. What do you think of them apples?
Please don't answer aloud yet, because this is a two-parter.
After the math teacher (we'll call him Babatunde Akinremi) admits he changed the answers (we'll call this cheating), a bunch of Sierra teachers sign a petition, urging the powers to spare his job. What do you think of them apples?
If I were a Sierra Middle School student - or any student - I'd probably engage in an involuntary bout of chuckling. Soon enough, though, I'd pull myself together and become concerned. Very concerned.
The chuckling is understandable because what student hasn't been lectured by a blowhard adult about the importance of hard work, playing by the rules, no free lunches and, oh yeah, the school of hard knocks?
So it's bad enough when one bad apple (Mr. Akinremi, who resigned) takes it upon himself to cheat the system. But when 37 of the bad apple's co-workers sign a petition, begging the powers to keep the cheater on the job, well that does bring on the chuckles.
As Dan rightly points out, a teacher who's willing to change test answers to help students also has the freedom to change answers to hurt students. And that should make students feel very insecure, indeed.
Posted by kswygert at July 28, 2004 10:58 AM