A MORAL ISSUE ?
When I was in high school way back when I took courses in Spanish. Living in the Northwest did not exactly help me when it came to studying Spanish. Neither was I what one might call a studious sort of young person. When I got to my fourth and final semester the teacher had us try reading a novel rather than simply study grammar and such. The novel she chose was “Emile y Los Detectivos”, one out of which Walt Disney later made a well-known movie called “Emile and the Detectives”. I feared I was on my way to failing this final semester of Spanish.
Honestly, I have absolutely no idea where this plan came from, but I went to the downtown public library and discovered that one could check out a copy that was written in English. So, being industrious I checked the book out and began to read it along with the next day’s assignment each night before class. I found that .this pattern worked out well and when I got to class the next day I was able to remember most of what I had read the night before. I also got pretty good at guessing at the places where I could not remember what the book had said.
This system worked out very well for me. I may even have learned a good deal of Spanish beyond the bit I already knew. In fact, I found that I actually looked forward to and enjoyed reading about these kids who caught the bad guys. Of course, I did not take the English version to class with me, but I did become very familiar with it reading it at home the night before class so I could fake my way through the translation in the class the next day. I actually got a B grade in the course that final semester.
Now, of course, the real question is, was what I was doing “cheating?” I do admit to learning quite a bit of Spanish that semester and I even enjoyed it. I guess my strategy never occurred to the teacher and I am pretty sure she never suspected that I was “cheating.” Of course, if she had found out what I was doing she would have flunked me. So there is the question: should I have been allowed in the way the
On the one hand, I learned a lot of Spanish by using the novel in this way, but on the other hand I was not actually doing the assignments the way the teacher had expected. At the same time, none of my classmates had the advantage of using the English version of this book in the way that I did. I never told anyone about this way of passing the course. The question, then, was I “cheating?” I suppose I was cheating the other students by getting a better grade than I deserved.
On the other hand, I actually learned a good deal of Spanish by this method and it may have stood me in better stead than I would have been otherwise when I moved to Southern California a couple of years later and did actually pick up quite a bit of Spanish. Actually, at the time I felt as though I was cheating, but in retrospect I tend to think that perhaps I had devised a useful way to study a foreign language. When in college and seminary we often used interlinear Greek and English texts of the Bible as part of our study techniques, but never when taking a test.
But my high school situation did not involve a test. My “technique” was in fact a great way for me to learn the Spanish for the day. No other students were put at a disadvantage by my way of “studying” the text. What do you think? Was my method unethical?
7 responses to “A MORAL ISSUE ?”
Tough question! However, your clever idea was not explicitly forbidden and was a more efficient way of translating the text than using a Spanish/English dictionary. If the teacher required you to describe the passages in Spanish during class then you would have had to learn enough to earn a good grade. I suspect that your grade had to reflect your in-class performance and you weren’t using the English version in class. In addition, your classmates would have had the same opportunity as you did and may have utilized similar methods, such as asking help from a Spanish-speaking uncle. I guess it is similar to playing basketball when your opponent is pushing and elbowing you. If the ref is “letting you play” then you probably should do the same if you hope to have a fighting chance. Probably not the best analogy, but there are times and situations in which it may be wiser to adapt to a less rigid interpretation of the guidelines. I am guessing that if you were the teacher in that scenario, you would not have failed the student had you found out about his or her non-orthodox way of learning.Right?
Right, Gary :O) At the time I guess I thought I was cheating – and since other students did not have equal opportunity to use the book (I had the library’s only copy :O)Fortunately it was not an ethics class :O) So good to hear from :O) When are you coming for visit? Thanks for reading – I never really know if (or who) anyone us reading these things. I do enjoy writing them – have finally learned how to “publish” so my wife does not have to do it. Paz, jerry
Well….there is not much difference between using a dictionary to look up every unfamiliar word and using the translation. Your teacher certainly knew that his strategy required students to look up words. You also could observe verb forms and grammatical structure. If you actually read the Spanish as well as the English, I don’t think you cheated. I used a translation of Virgil in my own translations from Latin in H.S. but only used it to see word translations rather than plod through the dictionary. I don’t think I cheated. The teacher knew we would have to look up words. I got an “A”. At Eckerd, I went through the textbook in a concentrated way to learn the grammar and as much vocabulary as the text gave and then did a “speed reading” of the French novels, just skimming over or guessing at strange words, and I think I got the gist of it all. I got a “P” at Eckerd for French III. I have in this way also learned what I know of Finnish, Swedish, and Spanish. When I read the New Testament in Greek I always have the English translation with me and than make my own decisions about whether the translation is correct or whether the words bear other interpretations. That was really significant for me , e..g,
when I observed that when Christ divided the bread to give it to the disciples at the last supper, the Greek word used was that he “tore” the bread. He did not “break” the bread. That means the bread was soft and could be torn rather than stiff and broken. So it was leavened, not unleavened, bread, such is used at passover. So the last supper was not a passover supper, as some scholars now attest, despite John’s telescoping it into passover.
Well done David :O) I think my situation was much less “cricket” than yours – and when I sought to learn some Spanish here at the border I did not do well. However one learns anything its a good thing :O) You were always a better student than i :O) Paz, Jerry
Probably unethical. But, hey, if you got caught you may have become so depressed that you dropped out of school and became a meth addict. Then maybe you got shot by the cops for breaking into a gas station.
All’s well that ends well! It was a victimless crime.
I love how this conundrum sets us probing the most fundamental questions about what’s going on in educational institutions and why. I agree that, from the standpoint of “the spirit” of the process of education, your moves were creative, and, in a way, insightful and empowering. I also get that, from the standpoint of “the letter” (with which we all must dance), you crossed a line. (Or at least, you judge your teacher would have thought so!)
This larger story, about your education, seems, thankfully, to be going really well. 🙂
But it reminds me of what I’ve started seeing the last academic year: Students turning to AI writing programs (like ChatGPT) to generate the outlines of their final papers, and in many cases, most or all of the content of the work they submit as their own. The companies publishing the academic honesty confirmation software are trying to keep up, but not doing great at it — and it’s changing how students work and how faculty assess student work.
So your framing of this question is timely! What’s going on here and why? And might we think up better answers?
Love and happy Solstice!
Brendan
Hey- good questions. I think as an old fashioned bum that students ought to be required to do their papers some other way (hand write?) or on simple typewriters or in class, or requre brief enough answers that the papers could be done in class. Glad i never had to face this issue, Thanks for thoughtful thoughts ;O) Paz, jer