Honor Code? HELLO??

    Our school has broken one of the many elements of harmony that have lost their twinkle amidst our corrupted community. Honesty being one of them, has been greatly undermined through cheating. I do not mean in a relationship with another person but the one with our test papers. We have come to a point in our education where we value our grades over our learning, which has in effect harmed our growth and moral attitudes. 

    Quite frankly, I do not see a reason to cheat. I can say that with complete credibility keeping in mind that my current grades are beyond irreparable and deserve psychiatric help. If anyone's grades need cheating to be improved upon, it's me. While I'm sure I could get away with it (no I couldn't), it isn't worth the consequences. A habit of cheating impacts various parts of our lives, ranging from our emotional states to our futures. As more students cheat, it only lowers their self-confidence. Rather than studying for their exams, they rely on cheating. This becomes a habit, eventually causing them to question their intellectual abilities (Tenney School). Past this also comes the weight of their friends and family. Their reputation is indefinitely ruined and will take a long time to recover in the community and outside of that. This includes colleges and even work opportunities. Seeing that a student was caught cheating in the past can make it incredibly hard to be accepted into top colleges and job positions. However, these consequences, while continuing to exist, are ignored as the cheating mindset continues. More and more students are cheating, making it seem acceptable if they do it as well. Even after knowing that people have been caught and punished, they continue to do it. Cheating will most definitely continue and even grow in use over time. Unless we address it, educate on it, and connect on a deeper level with students, cheating will only become a norm.

    That was the more civilized and AP English type of blog post response. But now, it's time to air out my complaints. First of all, HOW HARD IS IT TO NOT CHEAT? Just sit at your study desk a little longer and maybe the information will finally marinate into your brain. I don't care if you want the A in the class, imagine cheating your way throughout high school. Couldn't be me. Please just once in your life, go into a test and fail it. It's a grade, it's never that deep. Imagine caring THAT much about a literal letter. I'm not undermining the importance of our grades, especially when it so heavily affects our futures, but they shouldn't be pursued to this extent. Yeah, maybe Harvard won't accept you because of your grades but even if you cheated and got good grades, it isn't that realistic. Most of all though, YOU'RE MESSING UP THE CURVES. Do you even know how many higher grades I could've gotten if you didn't have to cheat and change the test average? My chemistry grade is below the earth's mantle because of you, and my Calculus grade? It's actually over for me. But am I cheating? NO. So stop making excuses and set your morals straight because you're bringing us down with you.

    Anyway, I can only hope to one day reclaim the magical honesty which Applejack once taught us. And please do not forget about the other element of harmony: kindness.