Post by gatormom on Jun 1, 2008 7:11:44 GMT -5
Time to crack down on plagiarism
Daily Herald editorial
Published: 5/31/2008
He's always struggled with his grades, and now another big report is due. Knowing this could be the difference between failing the class or not, he cheats. He takes somebody's else's work, represents it as his own, and turns in a plagiarized report.
Understandable, yes. Excusable, no. And always against the rules.
But plagiarism is particularly unacceptable -- downright galling -- when the guilty party is among the best and the brightest in, of all places, the field of education.
That describes the situation with Naperville Central Principal Jim Caudill.
He plagiarized a speech he gave at a recent graduation event. He said he didn't mean to, but he did.
And now he has a huge stain on what has otherwise been a distinguished career in education.
The school district is moving toward disciplining Caudill, as it should. But it will not be a mere slap on the wrist. Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis is recommending Caudill be reassigned for the next school year, which will happen upon approval of the school board.
We understand the sentiment of those who might think sterner actions be taken, even dismissal. After all, a principal is the top leader in a school building, an enforcer of rules students are expected to obey -- including not stealing somebody else's work. Caudill, of all people, cannot breach standards consistent with preserving academic integrity.
But at least Caudill is set to be punished for his act of plagiarism. That has not been the case in some of our universities, where accusations of academic theft have not been taken seriously, or where the use of others' work without proper attribution has been dismissed as minor or insignificant.
Plagiarism is never warranted and needs to be addressed with firm punishment, particularly since we see it occurring more and more every day. Sadly, Caudill wasn't the only person to cut corners in giving a speech. Leis said that Naperville Central's valedictorian apparently plagiarized at least half the speech he presented at graduation on May 21.
The valedictorian.
Why does plagiarism occur? It's more than dishonesty. It's also about sheer laziness. Either because of time demands, or simply wanting to get a speech or report out of the way, it's just easier to steal work than produce original thought. And with the Internet, it is not hard to cut and paste lifted passages.
But when someone takes the time to ponder what should be written, what should be said, those words are copyrighted in the heart and soul. They belong to no one else, unless they give credit.
What will it take to stop the spread of plagiarism? Some universities, as we reported in a story last month, are going as far as hiring "academic integrity advisers" and running reports through software programs set up to catch cribbed passages.
It's sad when you must have plagiarism police to enforce what should be a given -- knowing right from wrong in all walks of life, including the steps you take in writing for the record.
Daily Herald editorial
Published: 5/31/2008
He's always struggled with his grades, and now another big report is due. Knowing this could be the difference between failing the class or not, he cheats. He takes somebody's else's work, represents it as his own, and turns in a plagiarized report.
Understandable, yes. Excusable, no. And always against the rules.
But plagiarism is particularly unacceptable -- downright galling -- when the guilty party is among the best and the brightest in, of all places, the field of education.
That describes the situation with Naperville Central Principal Jim Caudill.
He plagiarized a speech he gave at a recent graduation event. He said he didn't mean to, but he did.
And now he has a huge stain on what has otherwise been a distinguished career in education.
The school district is moving toward disciplining Caudill, as it should. But it will not be a mere slap on the wrist. Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis is recommending Caudill be reassigned for the next school year, which will happen upon approval of the school board.
We understand the sentiment of those who might think sterner actions be taken, even dismissal. After all, a principal is the top leader in a school building, an enforcer of rules students are expected to obey -- including not stealing somebody else's work. Caudill, of all people, cannot breach standards consistent with preserving academic integrity.
But at least Caudill is set to be punished for his act of plagiarism. That has not been the case in some of our universities, where accusations of academic theft have not been taken seriously, or where the use of others' work without proper attribution has been dismissed as minor or insignificant.
Plagiarism is never warranted and needs to be addressed with firm punishment, particularly since we see it occurring more and more every day. Sadly, Caudill wasn't the only person to cut corners in giving a speech. Leis said that Naperville Central's valedictorian apparently plagiarized at least half the speech he presented at graduation on May 21.
The valedictorian.
Why does plagiarism occur? It's more than dishonesty. It's also about sheer laziness. Either because of time demands, or simply wanting to get a speech or report out of the way, it's just easier to steal work than produce original thought. And with the Internet, it is not hard to cut and paste lifted passages.
But when someone takes the time to ponder what should be written, what should be said, those words are copyrighted in the heart and soul. They belong to no one else, unless they give credit.
What will it take to stop the spread of plagiarism? Some universities, as we reported in a story last month, are going as far as hiring "academic integrity advisers" and running reports through software programs set up to catch cribbed passages.
It's sad when you must have plagiarism police to enforce what should be a given -- knowing right from wrong in all walks of life, including the steps you take in writing for the record.
