Cheating - School.

Another Monday, another prompt and I am excited about this one. Special shout out to you, @JonicaBradley for always pushing yourself to give the best of you to us. I wish you more strength and more help. Thank you for all that you do.

You can also participate in this prompt and I am giving a special reminder to @Hanzell @Princessbusayo @fantagira and @George_Dee I would love to read from you all on this prompt.

The rules for the writing prompt are simple:

• Write about cheating

• Write 100% original content

• Write at least 600 words

• Tag me @JonicaBradley

• Have fun

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A lot has been said about this topic and it is normal for our minds to first get drawn to infidelity as a form of cheating. Yes, I will talk about that too in another post. I have a few topics to touch on regarding cheating and it cuts across various spheres of life.

Cheating is when you try to go against the natural order of things and even though most people have turned cheating to become normal it is still alien to the order of things and that's why people are against it. Fair is fair, wrong is wrong.

My eyes were opened to cheating when I was in school. I would see people get so anxious during examinations even before it kicked in. With the mere thought of seeing the timetable up there, you would see how some have resolved to cheat the system. They felt there is nothing they read that would make them pass. While others are studying, they have determined in their hearts to cheat and they do this in various ways and shockingly, it was not only the guys.

I have seen people dragged out of exam halls with handouts on their laps. I have seen people pass sheets to themselves and they were caught. They have resorted to not putting in the work just as we have those who plagiarize because they cannot put in the work and the effort. Sometimes it is shameful to watch them get called out and paraded as 'thieves' or 'dullards'.

The most shocking form of cheating in school to me was this fair and beautiful lady.  She sat down and she wrote so many things on her thighs. She was caught when she lifted her skirt up a little (a loose and free skirt) and the invigilator made her a scapegoat. I felt bad for her.

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Most people don't believe in themselves. They feel they could not retain what they read and that's because they haven't tried. There is no gift of knowledge only the discipline of study. I am not also trying to absolve them but if you grew up in Nigeria back when the world was 'dark' you would understand that most parents see education as a way of life and they would force every child to go to school even when that child was cut out to be someone else. I read @George_Dee 's post on this earlier today when he cited how our system has frustrated the desires of those who truly want to study.

When we were graduating from the university. There was this guy that had so many carryovers so it means he won't graduate with us. He was not supposed to even receive the graduation gown as a result of that but he cheated. He managed to get his hand on the gown because he wanted to deceive his parents to believe he graduated too without telling them the true state of his grades.

It was shocking to see that on the day of graduation, he invited his parent who travelled for the ceremony. They even prepared food to be shared on his behalf and my heart sank. He wanted to cheat the system and also deceive his parents. When the Brochure was shared with parents and the students and the list of the graduating students became obvious, he still lied to his parents that they omitted his name by error. The father had to take his words for it and then finished the ceremony. The next day, the father came to the school and he was exposed when his results were shown to his father. The man left disappointed and heartbroken. He stayed behind to find out the truth only to discover what his heart couldn't handle - his son lied and even cheated to get the graduation gown.

The truth is, whatever degree you get via cheating the system it hurts more in the long run because you didn't give yourself to learning and you won't be able to live up to the expectation that surrounds it. I would rather get the grade that I can defend than have to cheat my way around it. I have no personal experience regarding cheating. I am not the type that read after every lecture but I tried to pick one or two things after every lecture but few weeks before an examination, I make sure I give myself to reading and have jottings in my note that I can refer to jolt myself back to life on what I have read. Sometimes I give abbreviations to some points for easy referencing.

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I remembered when I had an issue with a particular course. I had my best friend seated next to me in that exam but I couldn't bring myself to ask him for anything even though he knew it. He helped me before the exam because I am never the type to shy away from asking for help on what I don't know but it can never be during an examination. My brain got locked out on this particular course because I didn't immerse myself in it. Do you know that type of course where you already dread it even before you write the exam? I failed that course and it was the only course I ever failed. I had to enrol in a summer school to take only that course and finally, I passed it because I took the fear out of the way and told myself that I can pass it.

Most people cheat due to fear and lack of discipline. Most people struggle with low self-esteem too because all their lives they have been told they can never get anything right so they don't bother themselves about trying, they just try to find a way around it by cheating. In the end, it always catches up with them.

I once taught in a secondary school and that was my first job apart from the mandatory one year service period in my country where we get posted to another state to explore their culture. I taught there and after that service year, I also taught senior classes. My students enjoyed it when I explain things to them and that's because I know we don't have the same level of understanding. I tried to break things down in the simplest of ways so at least most people can relate to it. I find some of the students citing my examples even during examinations hahaha because that's the closest they can relate to.

As close as I was to them, they knew I can't encourage cheating and would never give them heads up on what to read. My subject was one of the subjects that were passed the most without a single "F" when they enrolled for their external examination. I made sure I allowed their mind to be creative enough to think outside what I was teaching them. I needed them to know there is nothing too difficult for them to understand they only need to put their minds into it. Most people cheat because they won't put their minds into believing they can do it. They want the easy way out and the 'easy' way out always cost them so much more in the end.

I will stop right here and tomorrow, I will be sharing about Cheating where a relationship is concerned. I don't want to make this post lengthy for fear of people skipping it to the end. I still have another cheating to write on and that's regarding politicians and even us, as citizens and as humans.

Thank you for your time.