Week 4 Reflection

          Since the prompt for this week was a repeat of last week, I thought I would reflect on what was a major experience this past week. I found that three of my students cheated on assignments this past week. While two of them were only on a homework assignment, I was very disappointed to encounter this dishonesty. One of the instances was on a much more serious assignment, which put the student in a very difficult position for the final grade. Despite my efforts to support this student throughout the semester, I have not seen much of a change since this incident occurred. In both of the other two students I was shocked by the excuses they provided for their actions.

            I guess I never expected that my students would do this, since I always tried to provide support for all of my assignments. I had heard about the increase in cheating that has occurred recently, but I did not expect to have to deal with it personally. However, I was proud of myself in handling this situation. I wrote my first referrals, which is an important disciplinary experience to have. Also, it was nice to have the support and advice of my master teachers and the school administration in handling this situation for the first time. While I sincerely hope to not have to deal with this on a regular basis, I am glad that I could have this experience and reflect on it.