Cheating: If it becomes the norm in a country’s educational institutions, what do you think might be the high probability of its negative ripple effects on society? In a world full of rampant cheating in government, which leads to graft and corruption, vote buying, and “guns and goons,” what can one do to make good changes towards Jesus’ Way—the Truth, and Life with Love?
The Messiah was severely tested by Satan’s temptations for 40 days and 40 nights in the Judean Desert, in the wild, mountainous area of the western region near the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.
Jesus found it more than challenging; it was a severe testing of His faith, which He only proved became all the more unwavering. Fasting was easy, but temptations of the flesh, riches, and insurmountable wealth, amongst many others? Christ was able to overlook it all. The Savior passed the tests of His will. The question is: Would it still be possible for an ordinary man these days to be as honest as one can possibly be?
A college student, going to get snacks for herself and her father, bought packs of their favorite merienda at the school’s canteen. At the cashier, right before leaving, she quickly mentally calculated her change and found out she was given more than she should have. She gave back the excess money to the cashier. She could have easily left with the extra cash, but she didn’t. The cashier quietly smiled and took back the excess amount. She came to appreciate the young student for her honesty.
CHALLENGING DILEMMA
A newbie college professor faced a challenging dilemma when one of her students became a debatable issue among the faculty regarding whether he should pass or fail. They talked about it at one point, from one teacher to another. She quickly explained that the student was not even attending her class and spent more time at computer or internet shops where gaming was rampant among the youth.
The decision she made was to finally decide he could not pass the subject when she was “offered” or asked what she wanted. Anybody can easily sniff out a form of bribery. Final decision? Fail him. Years later, she saw the aforementioned student going to a new school where he could be better molded towards a brighter future and not neglect his education, which his parents worked so hard for. It became a good decision on her part, no matter how little experience she might have had as a teacher then.
In another computer class, after final exams, when she was checking her students’ work, she was able to easily point out who was cheating on the exams. Answers were straightforwardly copied from one student’s paper to another. She double-checked it to make sure there was no error on her part. True enough, the two students were cheating. When she returned to her class, in a trembling voice, she gave a lecture about cheating. After a while, the students who had been caught cheating confessed. The professor did not mention it to the higher hierarchy of the school because, if she did, the repercussion was getting kicked out, as it was a grave mistake by the students. Before the class parted ways at the end of the semester, she wrote a little note to each of the students with their class pictures. With the two particular students, she did not dilly-dally but quietly and firmly told them not to cheat again.
This incident happened during the Nursing Board Exams of June 2006. According to a GMA News Report published at gmanetwork.com, on August 27, 2007, at 2:10 p.m., during the Nursing Licensure Exams, actual test questions were leaked and circulated. An independent fact-finding committee of the Professional Regulation Commission of the Philippines was formed for the alleged controversy. Based on their findings, there were irregularities, and the exam questions were indeed leaked.
“GHOST PROJECTS”
So where can we go from such a situation, of the youth attending school where cheating is the norm? What then would happen to society later on? That would no longer be called a foundation because, just like the so-called “ghost projects” where infrastructure is built with substandard materials due to graft and corruption, there’ll only be destruction and not a solid foundation in the nation.
Imagine living in a world where honesty became more prominent than cheating and stealing. People wouldn’t be taking advantage of vulnerable people. For example: A family was traveling with senior citizens. They stopped by a store for some delicacies. It’s good that the daughter noticed what her father had given the saleslady. She pointed out that her father gave a thousand pesos, but their change was only five hundred. In other words, if they had not spoken up that their change was lacking, the store could have made a quick buck with the spare five hundred pesos. That’s already worth a full meal!
Proverbs, 19:1 states that “Better is a poor person who walks in integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.”
