The Circumlocutory Circuitous Route
After having been a teacher for the past decade, I have probably heard every color and shape of excuse… welcome to the circumlocutory circuitous route to completing homework! The funny thing is that the joke is always on the student. There is no cheating hard work.
For appearances, economic interest, reputation, job security, or what have you, teachers have chosen not to “out” their students every time they hear an “excuse-deemed-excuse,” shall we say, but we always feel guilty doing it. Because, well, most of us love our students.
As long as both student and teacher keep their egos in check enough to continue the teacher-student relationship, there is progress to be made. Alas, the vast majority of students who are very good cheaters are able to escape the academic system unscathed. What, now, of these brilliant cheaters?
There is an intrinsic sense of esteem to be had, perhaps, from convincing others of the existence of a nontruth-as-truth, and yet, the role of teachers is more than simply to get a really good pension.
It seems a terribly unfortunate task to convince anyone of the importance of anything, without consequences. But the very act of an attempt to keep up an appearance of some sort must indicate a desire to obtain some kind of ability. If the ability to conduct such brilliant feats such as homework completion were within reach, then, perhaps, the need to find an “excuse” would no longer be existent. And yet, here we are.
What should a good teacher do?
What, at minimum, must be communicated, perhaps, is that, if you are a student reading this article, that we teachers know exactly how masterful you are over a certain quantity of material, and how much effort you are putting in. And any good teacher will not take any lack of effort personally.
It is really up to the student, and the teacher has very little power to change the course of an academic journey. We are here to support, period. There is no judgment, and no personal involvement, because every student’s journey is different.
If deceit is a part of the journey, so be it, but the good teacher will continue to support a student despite the length of time he or she needs to be deceitful. The harm that can be committed to society is checked by several standardized exams, namely, the SAT, GMAT, LSAT, and so have you. Teachers are here to help. The student would be wise to realize that the true authority is not his or her teacher, but rather him- or herself.
If you desire something, why not pursue it? What is stopping you? Lies can only get you so far, with certain types of people. Sooner or later, you will face the roadblock of truth. And to be very honest with you, the only way to circumvent the obstacle is to put in work.
Is there a reward to all of this? It’s called pride—the non-sacrilegious kind—because you will be, for once, truthfully glorifying all that God stands for. That’s a feeling that any human being should feel at least once.
