One of the parameters of being a person of integrity is honesty.
Honesty must start from within. Cheating has its many evil forms. Cheating is unjust. Cheating is unfair. How would you feel if you have been cheated in the elections? Oh, this dirty tactic has earned a notorious spot in the annals of our country's political history.
Now, let's go down to the brass tacks. How would you feel if you were cheated by your friend? Your officemate? Your neighbor? How would you feel if you have been cheated by your wife, or husband?
In class, students are graded according to their academic outputs. Therefore, the rating they get simply reflects how they carried out their task. I remember my high school teacher saying "kayo ang gumagawa ng grades ninyo." True, indeed.
If a student cheated in doing his project, then, he is dishonest. He becomes what he does. Sinisira nya ang sarili niya.
In this class, I was able to unearth a handful of final examinations verbatimly copied from other sources. Worse, it was made to appear that it was their work, when in fact, it is not. Material evidences substantiate this act of plagiarism.
At first, I thought of giving these students who plagiarized their examinations a grade of 5.0 because it constitutes blatant act of academic dishonesty. In this instance, I, as a teacher, do not judge them. It is their work that judge them in the end.
But compassion and consideration got the better of me. Instead of failing them, I gave them INC's, or a chance to rectify their act. Yet some of those culprits may still misunderstand me and condemn me for what I stood for. They never know how I walked the extra mile.
As a teacher, I must be a staunch advocate of honesty. And ALL TEACHERS must be such. Again, "we cannot be warriors of truth unless we are men and women of integrity." We have enough of dishonest cabals of men and women in society. So, I must not falter in this task, or else, I will contribute to the decay of morals. I may earn the ire of those who cheated, I may be condemned for being upright.
But at the end of the day, it is better to be vilified for being an advocate of TRUTH than be piloried for tolerating or being a party to dishonesty. That's the richest legacy that I got from my father who died 10 years ago.
