Colleen Wenke argues in her essay that currently students are so inspired to achieve their own individual goals which include getting the best grades, enrolling in good schools, and also getting the highest paid jobs through top-notch cheating. It is admissible that Colleen’s arguments are viable that cheating by students on tests today is because of the increased minimal philanthropic goals among students (Wenke 1). However, Wenke has not vividly explained some of her points clearly to have a clear understanding and make sense. Therefore this paper is a response in agreement with Colleen Wenke’s argument about causes and solutions to students cheating on tests in the current generation.
Moreover, Wenke points out accuses figures of schools being the cause of students’ cheating for failing to fulfil their duty of teaching students moral standards and that is why they are producing students who cannot differentiate what is morally wrong and what is morally right. “The eradication of values can be tracked significantly to alterations in institutions that are traditionally obliged to teach them to the youths” (Wenke 2). This point is actually sensible and right. Teachers spend most of the time with the students than their parents throughout the year every year. Teachers in schools are obliged to teach the student not only academically but also morally and ethically. Academics go hand in hand with ethics and morals, therefore, schools should teach students morals and ethics. Since students are not taught morals they are not able to differentiate what is wrong and what is good, therefore they cheat in exams because they do not see it being something wrong but rather something normal that has been a culture of students.
Another cause of the increased cheating of students in exams in the current generation according to Wenke is the high pressure that is mounted on students. She claims that a lot is expected out of students and they tend to be under pressure during tests to get the test done while at the same time expecting to get good grades (Wenke 3). Actually, with high expectations, the desire to finish the test and also intend to get good grades, students tend to cheat in order to bail themselves out of these entrapments. Students use cheating as a scapegoat and shortcut to ease their work so as to get to attend to the various works they are involved in.
Regards to Wenke’s essay, she argues that cheating is attributed to students of the current generation being so goal-focused as well as enthusiastic in compromising their own moral values in order to attain their individual goals. It is hard to believe that students from previous generations were less driven to achieve their own individual goals (Wenke 2). In essence, what has actually changed are the morals and values which shape the way in which students attain those goals currently. Wenke invalidly utilized the word values instead of ethics. Contrary to ethics being applied on the basis of proper conduct, an individual’s values, arising from their experiences and exhibited by their actions, tend not to be integrally attributed to good ethics. Claiming that those cheating students do not live up to their values inappropriately suggests that the system of values should be followed to morally and culturally admissible standards.
To sum up, Wenken’s argument that students in this generation require value systems that will efficiently eliminate cheating is appropriate and appealing. This is the best solution to end the culture of cheating by students. Family, government, media, school, and church are obliged to impart values to students that positively influence them. Essentially, teaching values to students will reduce students cheating students.