Cheating – it is an evil that happens in schools everywhere. Central Regional’s Honor Code Committee is now devising a Code of Honor to help stop and prevent it.

The Code of Honor involves all sorts of cheating - taking someone else’s work for your own - whether it is copying a homework assignment, plagiarizing in a research paper or something in between.

The code establishes consequences depending on what it is that the student has cheated on and how often the student has cheated. “In most cases, you [the student] would have to make up the assignment for a lesser grade” or no credit at all says Mrs. Grosse, a Spanish teacher who is a member of the Honor Code Committee.

Other consequences include parent notification, and potential loss of academic honors and scholarships from Central Regional.

Colleges don’t look at cheating too highly either, continues Mrs. Grosse, they can kick you out and keep your money.


The Code of Honor was not created to be an “I got you!” sort of thing, she says. “I think many times children don’t understand that they are cheating.” Mrs. Grosse says, there needs to be some education on it.

Copying homework is still cheating, and teachers need to make and effort to bring these things to the attention of their classes.

The Code of Honor was also made to help stop students from cheating before it gets worse. “You set yourself up for failure [when you cheat] because then you believe that you can’t do it on your own” says Grosse, it makes students enable themselves and come up with excuses and rationalizations that make it seem okay to them.

If teachers show that they will impose the consequences of the code, students will be less likely to cheat. Teachers and students alike need to address the problems of academic dishonesty.

“People have to be confident in themselves and say this is not right.” Mrs. Grosse says.

“Because there will be consequences and some place for teachers to bring it to, it will make kids less inclined to cheat” states Mrs. Grosse. Information on the new Code of Honor will be sent home for parents and students. There will also be an opportunity for students to give their own input about how the cheating situation should be handled. “I think students see things differently than we do as adults, teachers, administrators and parents.” Mrs. Grosse explains.