Re: TARGET: Plagiarism Consequences in High School

["Aleene B. Nielson" <ablanca@BIGPLANET.COM>]

Joyce Polucha wrote:

> Due to a a rash of plagiarism in term papers, our English Department is
> drafting a new plagiarism policy.  Our previous policy called for the
> offender to receive a zero for the grade.  The department feels more
> stringent measures should be imposed.  Here is the new policy:
>
> 1.  First Offense:
>     A grade of "0" for the assignment
>     Notification of parents
>     Forfeiture of membership in any honor society
>     3 day suspension

This reminds me of other "zero tolerance" policies that have been imposed on
our schools/society (and the lives of our students) in the past few years.
It may be easy to "enforce" but will not allow for accidental or "innocent"
actions of young people nor will it give students an opportunity to learn
from their mistake.  After a first offense, a thoughtful discussion with the
young person would be much more appropriate.  That discussion could include
reasons for the anti-plagiarism policy, the importance of relying on one's
own creativity rather than copying the work of others, making a plan to
prevent future incidents of plagiarism, and making a decision about
consequences of any future plagiarism.

This kind of discussion allows the student to learn and grow.  The "zero
tolerance" policy makes him or her a "criminal" who can learn only through
severe punishment.  Why do you want to stereotype your students as
"criminals" rather than teach them to take responsibility for changing
improper behavior?

Aleene Nielson
Former LM Coordinator, Teacher, Prof.
Tucson, AZ
ablanca@bigplanet.com

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