What to do about a student who plagiarized a paper for athletic eligibility?

April 19, 2004 3:24 PM

What to do about a student who plagiarized a paper for athletic eligibility? [More inside, because that question by itself is a no brainer.]

I’m currently student teaching, and a student who earned a 33% for the third marking period came to me begging to pass so that he would be eligible for track. I’m working in a school district where parents make all the decisions anyway, so we worked out a contract for him to complete all of the work he missed in exchange for a change to a D-. He hands me a stack of papers today, including a dry boring paper that I didn’t assign. I could tell it wasn’t his writing though, so I googled a sentence and, sure enough, he’d gotten the paper online. Now, obviously, turning in an internet paper as one’s own = failing. But I never assigned this paper. But kid needs to know it’s not cool. (Complicating things slightly is the fact that, although he handed me the paper as his own, it, and everything else he turned in, does not have his name on it.) What to do?

posted by ferociouskitty to education (36 comments total)

I would go to your direct superior (not sure in this situation if you report to an advisor or a principle).

Before you do anything, scan his papers and submit them to turnitin.com (or google random sentences) The more ammo you have the better this will go. How do you know he didn't plagiarize anything else?

Even if you didn't assign the paper, he submitted it. He is obviously not living up to his end of the bargain.
posted by Quartermass at 3:42 PM on April 19, 2004

Public humiliation works wonders when done just right. Ask him to do the search himself and, after he produces the evidence of his own misdemeanor, what would he do if he ever found a student of his committing a shamefaced attempt at plagiarism.
posted by 111 at 3:43 PM on April 19, 2004

Whoops, QM beat me to it. Make sure you google all of his other stuff.

I say fry his ass. It's ridiculous that he's cheating when he's already been given much more slack than he deserves.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 3:44 PM on April 19, 2004

Wait a paper you didn't assign was turned in? What? I'm confused? Did this kid just google a random paper online and turn it in?
posted by geoff. at 3:46 PM on April 19, 2004

Was it perhaps intended for another teacher...?
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 3:47 PM on April 19, 2004

Fail him. Sorry if I'm not being very compassionate, but the kid had a second chance to get his shit in order and decided to plagiarize, and not in a particularly crafty manner, either. I'm a big fan of letting people correct their mistakes (ie, working out the contract with him) but this second infraction seems rather inexcusable.

Maybe, maybe sit him down and ask him to explain the paper. The only reason I say this is because you didn't assign it. There might be a reasonable explanation for it, like it was some sort of reference material, or something. But, honestly, this might be a good time for the kid to learn about priorities and personal responsibility, especially if it's early in his academic career.
posted by mmcg at 3:49 PM on April 19, 2004

Was it related to another paper? If so, he may have been using it like they advertise, as a resource and therefore it's kosher.

But I agree with Quartermass, go to your advisor or principal and present the issue and a possible solution. As a student teacher, that's hopefully one of those things they are there to help you with.
posted by karmaville at 3:52 PM on April 19, 2004

Be prepared for the argument that this paper was used as a source for researching the other assignments. Or that it merely became mixed up in a stack of papers. Neither of which is probably true, but if the kid is into plagiarizing papers, he might want to plagiarize one of these excuses, too.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:55 PM on April 19, 2004

I am struggling with plagiarizing students as well, so I sympathasize with you. I've failed more than a few student papers for plagiarism this semester, and the bloodbath ain't over yet.

I look at it like this; information not cited = problems with citation (benefit of doubt). Whole paragraphs in quotes but not cited = problems with citation (benefit of doubt). Whole paragraphs lifted without quotations and citations = academic dishonesty (pretty clear to me).

Quartermass has a great idea; get your evidence in order. If you don't submit his work to turnitin.com (because I sense it's a paper copy) run a few key sentences in a few paragraphs through Google. Jot down the URL's of places where the information came from. Print out the locations of evidence and bring the whole mess in to your supervisor.

Students have to be accountable for the consequences of their actions. Athletes are students first, and they adhere to the same honesty code as the rest of the student body. I've had to drop students (for other reasons) even though it cost them their scholarship. This athlete blew it when he cheated and was stupid enough to think he wouldn't get caught. He deserves to face the music as specified by your departmental authority.
posted by answergrape at 3:55 PM on April 19, 2004

Also, it sounds like this is a "second strike" for this particular guy.

I do give students a chance to revise these works, to make absolutely sure it's an honest issue and not an issue of understanding citation processes. It sounds like you've given him this chance.

Nail him!
posted by answergrape at 3:57 PM on April 19, 2004

When you say you're "student teaching," do you mean that you're a grad student or something like that who's teaching a class as part of your graduation requirement?

In that case, take it to a superior, because you don't get paid enough to deal with that hassle yourself (and it will be hassle, and lots of it).
posted by Prospero at 3:58 PM on April 19, 2004

It's a reasonable possibility he was using the paper as a source, and didn't mean to turn it in. But if he turned it in thinking it would be easy extra credit, burn him.
posted by o2b at 4:01 PM on April 19, 2004

I agree with second chances as long as they apply to all students. If you can honestly say that you would do the same thing if it was any student in your class then I agree with it. I'm stubborn in that I think high school is impossible to fail if you, well you don't even need outside effort; all you have to do is pay attention during class. So I wouldn't be too nice in situations like that. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not a teacher.

As far as the plagiarism I agree that you should go to the principal or someone higher up with it. I'd recommend to him that the kid fail, but if he wants to give the kid yet another chance then the weight is still off your shoulders.
posted by Hypharse at 4:05 PM on April 19, 2004

Well since you never assigned it, I'd just hand back the paper and say "this was never assigned, by the way it's plagiarised."
posted by bobo123 at 4:08 PM on April 19, 2004

How old is she/he? Would a failure ruin them beyond track? In the grand scheme of life, is this cause to ruin a shot at college? What is the student's past record? Those are the questions I would ask myself, and then probably give the kid another chance, after exposing them privately and warning of the consequences if they were to do it again. The goal shouldn't be nailing anyone, but helping them to realize the error of their ways and providing the means for them to help themselves. But I was always a crappy institutional learner (nothing this bad though).
posted by loquax at 4:15 PM on April 19, 2004

If you are referring to high school I would recommend going through the proper "chain of command". Giving the information to your supervising teacher and letting that person deal with the problem. Please post how you deal with it and what happens to the student.
posted by busboy789 at 4:15 PM on April 19, 2004

after rereading your post; definitely go through the chain of command. In districts where parents rule they would try and destroy you if a student teacher does it on his/her own. The parents will also make it very difficult to work there if you still want to work in that school
posted by busboy789 at 4:18 PM on April 19, 2004

Just the fact that you are student teaching and have a question demands that you use your chain of command. The details are irrelevant.
posted by mischief at 4:29 PM on April 19, 2004

If he handed you a stack, and his name was not on the plagiarized paper I would really give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was using it as a resource that got mixed in. Of course, definitely do some intense searching for passages from his other papers and nail him there if you can.
posted by rafter at 5:35 PM on April 19, 2004

There is nothing to suggest that the work is his, or that he's trying to pass it off as his own work. Nothing. The paper neither has his nameon it, nor is it in his handwriting.

Either don't include that piece in his submitted work (as you know it isn't his own work) or ask him if it is his work (he will doubtless deny this) and then ... don't include it in his submitted work. Problem solved.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.
posted by Blue Stone at 6:29 PM on April 19, 2004

I agree with Blue Stone, loquax et al: the goal of teaching isn't to "fry" or "nail" students (don't go there), it's to teach them, and I find it kind of disturbing that so many are calling for punishment here rather than education. This is an opportunity to do just that, and it could even be a fundamentally important moment in both your teaching career and the student's academic career. I'd check and see if anything else is plagiarized, and then I'd ask him about the paper. Assuming everything else is above board, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but perhaps also a talk about how you're relieved that the paper was handed in by accident and a discussion about plagiarism (if you think it's appropriate). It's too early in your career to fall into the jaded, cynical attitudes which afflict far too many teachers and which result in viewing students as enemies or miscreants whose sins you need to discover and punish, avoid that as long as you can, remember why you're doing this in the first place, and let that guide you.
posted by biscotti at 6:51 PM on April 19, 2004

"There is nothing to suggest... that he's trying to pass it off as his own work."

Says who? ferociouskitty doesn't say if the paper or its title page does or does not bear the student's name. If it does, then the school's plagiarism policy ought to come into play: placing your name on work not of your own doing, then submitting it, is pretty strong evidence of the intention to pass the work off as your own.

However, if it doesn't, and it's just a printout of some random paper tucked in with the other work, it seems perfectly reasonable to reject it and move on. It's just extra paper that got tossed in the pile. Intent is everything, here -- people misfile crap all the time, but rarely put their name on someone else's work unintentionally.
posted by majick at 7:32 PM on April 19, 2004

Well since you never assigned it, I'd just hand back the paper and say "this was never assigned, by the way it's plagiarised."

Do what bobo123 said. The only thing you may want to ask before doing this is if he planned on turning it in to another teacher. That could be bad. Otherwise... let it go.
posted by banished at 7:36 PM on April 19, 2004

biscotti, I think that my "nail em" comment and others like it illustrate an educator's continuing frustration with the plagiarism issue. After a point, it isn't an issue of education.

Once a student knows the rules, it becomes an issue of ethics and enforcement. Those tough issues that most teachers face. It doesn't help that some students have been coddled into believing that plagiarism doesn't have consequences. Plagiarism is a BIG problem in student writing, in part because many students get away with it quite regularly without consequences.

Better this student be called onto the carpet for it now before he enters college and has to go through formal academic disciplinary procedures, which is a possibility for one or two of my students. If this educator and her administration impart serious consequences now, perhaps the student can avoid bigger ones later.
posted by answergrape at 7:38 PM on April 19, 2004

The chain of command should be the first, but not necessarily the best, answer. If they are willing to sweep it under the rug and want you to accept that, then you have to live with the potential that the student could continue perpetuating frauds in college.
posted by calwatch at 9:18 PM on April 19, 2004

Blue Stone, I think by saying "wasn't his writing," ferociouskitty meant use of language, not handwriting.

Are the papers all formatted in the same way? (Same margin size, same typeface, etc.) If the paper was just a resource for him that he found on the web, he probably would have printed it right from his browser. If its formatting is identical to his other papers, that sounds suspicious. It's not proof or anything, but it does raise the question of why he'd go to the trouble of changing its original format.

Is it in any way related to anything you've taught? In his defense, I had middle and high school teachers who would offer a small amount of extra credit if you brought in something - say a newspaper clipping or a magazine article - that was related to the class.
posted by Hypharse at 9:26 PM on April 19, 2004

Addendum: If you do fail him for plagiarism, a lawsuit is possible.
posted by mischief at 9:34 PM on April 19, 2004

Says who? ferociouskitty doesn't say if the paper or its title page does or does not bear the student's name.

ferociouskitty: "...(Complicating things slightly is the fact that, although he handed me the paper as his own, it, and everything else he turned in, does not have his name on it.)"
posted by obloquy at 10:04 PM on April 19, 2004

answergrape: I'm not saying that there shouldn't be consequences for plagiarism, I'm saying that if nothing else is plagiarized then this kid deserves the benefit of the doubt that the paper was included by accident (and likely also deserves a talk about the evils of plagiarism). I just hear too many teachers who sound more like prison wardens than anything else. I know it's a very frustrating and often thankless profession, but I hate to see people entering any profession pre-jaded. You get a lot further with some people if you teach and explain and talk to them like a human being than if you're looking to "nail" and "fry" them, that's all I'm saying - yes, there should be consequences, but the fact that other kids plagiarize is no reason to assume that THIS kid's doing it in THIS case.
posted by biscotti at 10:15 PM on April 19, 2004

ditto what biscotti said. It may turn out that some kind of imposed consequence is appropriate, but this isn't about playing gotcha. Your real goal is to steer the student from being the kind of person who plagiarizes.

Given that, and the fact that the paper doesn't match a requirement and doesn't have the student's name on it, a discussion and a warning is probably more effective than trying to "nail" the student.

Although I do think it's worth bringing up with the other faculty members -- and letting the student know you've done so. They should know that this is a possible issue, and he should know that information will travel and he will be found out if he walks down that road, and by allowing himself to even come as close as he has, he's brought his own reputation into question.
posted by weston at 10:36 PM on April 19, 2004

Flunk him. Flunk him. Flunk him. If the parents override your decision, at least you will have tried to do the right thing. I don't know where you are, but I know that in CA, no one can tell the teacher what the grade should be. No judge, no administrator, no one.

If the paper has his name on it, and it's not his work, and he handed it to a teacher, all other considerations are moot. It's plagiarism.

Plagiarism is bad enough, but he committed it in response to being given a special second chance to make up for his past mistakes. That's fooling you twice.

He needs to learn that being an athlete is not a free ticket to fuck up every other part of his life, and that, in fact, quite the reverse, he needs to earn the uniform. No matter how pathetically he pleads with you to let him wear it, he clearly has no respect for it, and doesn't deserve it.
posted by scarabic at 9:55 AM on April 20, 2004

Script for an easy clarifying conversation:

Teacher: "Hi. Sit down. I want to talk about this paper."
[push it over the desk toward him]

*wait for incriminating/mitigating response

Teacher: "So, in your estimation, what grade do you deserve on this paper?"

*wait for incriminating/mitigating response

If at any point he says "Woops, how'd you get that? I didn't mean to hand that in," then he's clear. If on the other hand he says "Yep. What about it? I think I deserve a passing grade," then you can safely nail him.
posted by scarabic at 9:59 AM on April 20, 2004

I'm with the "chain of command" folks here. You're a student teacher, after all. The other teachers--especially your supervisor--are supposed to help you learn to be a better teacher and help you deal with difficult situations. And I dare say they've had more experience dealing with cases of suspected plagiarism among students than a bunch of random MeFites.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:40 AM on April 20, 2004

Now....his assigned work doesn't have his name on it either?

Check those out online. You have a big glaring clue, you know...you already have one paper that's plagarized. The rest probably are also.

And if they are, then that's it. I mean, this was fucking MAKE UP work...he already got a 33, you know?! I'd definitely want to nail him, however, I'd go through the chain of command to do it.
posted by taumeson at 12:09 PM on April 20, 2004

Thanks for all the input - thought you might be interested in the resolution. I had a chat with the student about the paper in the presence of my supervising teacher (she's big on me making all of my own decisions, just like a Real Grownup Teacher would.) I asked him about his paper - to explain it, explain a few word choices that happened to be words I know he's not comfortable using, etc. He bluffed the whole time. Gotta give him props for commitment. Anyway, after a few minutes, I showed him the website where I found the paper, to which he replied, "Oh shit." I then gave him the Big Lecture about why plagiarism is bad, but told him that since I hadn't assigned this paper, I would not fail him. However, we did write up a nice little something something for the assistant principal so that, if he is ever suspected of plagiarism again, he will not get the nice lenient treatment a first time offender would typically get.

By the way, as far as checking his other work --- I typically don't assign things that can be plagiarized very easily. I have a lot of things relate to current events or particular things in the school. Plus I have a big enough sample of in-class writing (journals and whatnot) that I can tell if something is a kid's own work or if they had some "help."
posted by ferociouskitty at 1:03 PM on April 20, 2004

Thanks for the update, I think you handled it well. He knows that "nice little something something" is lying in wait for him, and hopefully that will help him stay honest (and he'll remember that you treated him kindly and fairly as well).
posted by biscotti at 1:49 PM on April 20, 2004