| annecolorgreen
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Here's the deal: my 36 yr old brother is finishing his 4-year business degree and needs an 18 page research paper done to finish up. He has asked my almost 16 yr old dd to write it :shock: . At first, I thought he had asked her to pick up some research articles/books since he can't make it to the library easily due to his job/commute each week, but now know differently. He also has several other papers that he is currently writing.
#1--should I stay out of this?
#2--should I get involved?
#3--IF she does this, how much should she get paid?
Other piece of the dilemma...both my brother and dd know that I wrote papers for a close family friend when I was 16 and he was in college. It was always something funny to talk about, but now am rethinking the morality of having done it myself.
Thanks,
Anne |
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Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:33 pm |
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| LegalBeagle
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| Anne, I think you already know the answer to this. It's academic dishonesty, and you don't want your DD to have any part of it. Your brother should be ashamed of himself for asking her to do this for him, IMO. If I were you, I'd be furious with my brother. He does not deserve to earn a degree that he does not do the work for himself. It's cheating, and it's dishonest, and it's wrong. Most colleges would throw a student out for something like this. Sorry to be so blunt. |
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Sat Jul 21, 2007 7:39 pm |
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| BoSoxGirl
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Quote: It's academic dishonesty, and you don't want your DD to have any part of it. Your brother should be ashamed of himself for asking her to do this for him
I agree with LegalBeagle. First of all, this is for a master's degree or higher I assume. He should have the knowledge and ability to do this paper (and better than a 16 year old without the classes and experience he has), and also should have known this was going to be a requirement for the program and been prepared for that. It also sets an extremely poor example for your daughter, who probably will be attending college and having to write papers of her own someday soon. I went undergrad to a large private university here in Boston and they made it abundantly clear that academic dishonesty was an expellable offense, and they did do it, and often. I think that although you don't want to interfere, she is still young enough to have a malleable mind and needs some guidance on how to say no to someone you respect and admire, even if you know they may be upset. This applies to so many situations she might find herself in in the future. This is a great teachable moment- I wouldn't let it pass. |
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Sat Jul 21, 2007 7:53 pm |
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| annecolorgreen
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| You're right. :( That's what I thought too. |
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Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:13 am |
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| Dylan
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Hi Anne,
Sorry, I just had to throw my two cents in two. I work for a university and was just discussing this exact topic this week. First of all, I would absolutely recommend expelling any student who had someone else write a paper for him or her - there is absolutely no excuse for it on the collegiate level, and almost every school has an honor code saying that exact thing.
Now, concerning your daughter, I was discussing with my colleagues the implications of a student applying to college who was caught writing a paper for someone else (not buying a paper, but writing a paper to help a friend). We agreed that we would not accept a student who did that, even if they had good grades. A student who thinks it is ok to cheat in high school will also cheat in college. We agreed that we would consider a student who had been suspended for many other reasons, but have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to the type of cheating you are referring to.
Now, the chances of her being caught are slim, but do you really think she should be jeopardizing getting into the college of her choice? As another poster said, sorry to be so blunt, but it is very frustrating to deal with these situations at work, wondering why these students find it so easy to cheat, and then see a mother asking how much her daughter should charge for these services.
As far as you writing a paper for a friend when you were 16, just explain about the regret you are feeling now. Just because you did it doesn't mean that you should support your daughter doing it also. My mom did LOTS of stuff as a teenager that she made damn sure I didn't do!
Again, sorry if I was so blunt - good luck to you! I know you will help your daughter do the right thing. |
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Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:56 am |
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| annecolorgreen
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Dylan--no problem! Your answer was just what I was looking for! I really needed something "other" than moral/ethical reasons to present to the two of them.
Thanks!
~~anne |
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Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:17 pm |
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