HS student kicked out of honors class for cheating; parents sue

[LongTimeListener]

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_20481609/parents-sue-district-kicking-son-out-sequoia-high

A high school sophomore was kicked out of his honors English class for copying another student's homework. He had signed an honor code before the class began spelling out the consequences. According to the code, he was supposed to be kicked out of the international baccalaureate program as a junior and senior, but the school relented and said he only had to be out of this class and take an F. The parents sued, saying the punishment doesn't fit the crime. (They suggest he work as an after-school teacher's aide for the rest of the year.)

The hearing is set for May 17. School ends June 8.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Good. Now there will be dozens of articles on the web with this guy's name attached to cheating.

 

[poindexter]

A nation of douchebags.

 

[slappy4428]

IB students are held to a higher standard. He cheated. Deal with it.
Did I cheat? Of course. Was I an IB student? Not by a long shot.

 

[DanOregon]

Unless it's an AP class, these kind of gussied-up honors programs are mainly designed to make public school parents think their kids will be getting an edge when it comes to colleges. If the parents were smart, they would have sent the kid to Serra.
They've done more damage to the kid than taking an F ever would have.

 

[fossywriter8]

The sophomore had signed an "Academic Honesty Pledge" at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year that declares cheating is grounds for immediate removal from the advanced-level program; his mother also had signed it. According to the lawsuit, however, another school document states that a student will be removed from the program only after a second plagiarism offense.

In a March 19 letter from Lianides to Berghouse, the superintendent acknowledges that a second document, attached to the honesty pledge, refers to an "old two-strikes policy" and should have been updated. But the signed pledge "clearly states that any incident of cheating or plagiarism will result in the student removal from the class with no exceptions," he wrote.

I find it humorous that the program involved is an honors English class, yet the school district has a confusing, contradictory policy about how many infractions would lead to expulsion from the program.
By leaving the "old two-strikes policy" in, the district left itself open to just such a situation.
The fact the student cheated is not in question, so punishment is warranted.
What the punishment should be, according to the school policy, is the question.

 

[Mark2010]

Was the punishment for this offense spelled out in advance? The parents just didn't like the consequences?

Well, I didn't like the sentence the judge gave me for my crime, either.

 

[LongTimeListener]

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating?source=most_viewed

Update: The dad explains that this might keep his son out of an Ivy League school.

"There is the possibility this will cause permanent harm. What university will it keep him out of? Will that have far-ranging consequences in what kind of job he can get?" Berghouse said.

No kidding. I don't think anyone has ever been successful in life who did not go to an Ivy League college for his or her undergraduate degree.

 

[Starman]

I note that nowhere in the parents' defense is any assertion that the kid didn't do it.

 

[DanOregon]

Dear Ivy League school,

Admit my son or I will sue.

Sincerely,

Helicopter Parent who would die of embarrassment if they had to put a public school's sticker on the back of their Volvo SUV.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I note that nowhere in the parents' defense is any assertion that the kid didn't do it.

Also note that he was one of four students caught, and the other three appear to have made peace with their punishment.

 

[RickStain]

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating?source=most_viewed

Update: The dad explains that this might keep his son out of an Ivy League school.

"There is the possibility this will cause permanent harm. What university will it keep him out of? Will that have far-ranging consequences in what kind of job he can get?" Berghouse said.

Working as intended.

 

[YGBFKM]

The question he cheated on:

Explain the concept of personal responsibility, using your parents as an example.

 

[HanSenSE]

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating?source=most_viewed

Update: The dad explains that this might keep his son out of an Ivy League school.

"There is the possibility this will cause permanent harm. What university will it keep him out of? Will that have far-ranging consequences in what kind of job he can get?" Berghouse said.

To say nothing of a note on his permanent record that he cheated in an honors program

 

[Double J]

The question he cheated on:

Explain the concept of personal responsibility, using your parents as an example.

"I DEMAND A NEW QUESTION!!!"

 

[indiansnetwork]

Shocking, America is going down the toilet faster then IJAG responds to cut me down.

 

[farmerjerome]

Not to be the a-hole here, but this is a sophomore copying a friend's homework. As a journalist, I know it's textbook plagiarism, but -- it's a sophomore copying his friend's homework.

It's not like he bought a term paper or cheated on a test. Personally, I like the school's second-chance policy. It gives the kids a chance to learn their lesson and go on. The school handled it well. As a parent I probably would've been shocked at the severity of the punishment at first but grateful that he got another chance to stay in the program.

 

[Versatile]

My best friend and I had a system for every class we were in together: I'd do the even-numbered questions, and he'd do the odd. Then we'd rewrite each other's answers with completely different wording. We never let anyone in on the system because we didn't think we could trust them to responsibly rewrite the questions with completely different wording or to get the questions right.

It saved a little time, particularly on questions that required research to answer, but it also taught us the material. Moreover, my friend was a great student, but I was a smart slacker. But for those classes where we had the system, I worked my ass off so that my answers wouldn't bring down his grades. To be honest, I'm pretty sure he came up with his own answers a lot of the time anyway. But he made me a better student because I cheated with him. It's weird how that works.

 

[Ookpik]

"I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record."

Oh yeah? Well, don't get so distressed. Did I happen to mention that I'm impressed?

 

[RickStain]

Not to be the a-hole here, but this is a sophomore copying a friend's homework. As a journalist, I know it's textbook plagiarism, but -- it's a sophomore copying his friend's homework.

It's not like he bought a term paper or cheated on a test. Personally, I like the school's second-chance policy. It gives the kids a chance to learn their lesson and go on. The school handled it well. As a parent I probably would've been shocked at the severity of the punishment at first but grateful that he got another chance to stay in the program.

It's an honors program. It's designed to see which sophomores can handle the workload without copying their friends' homework.