Plagiarism...

Dear friends,

This is for anyone with kids - it is for homeschooling families, public school families, private school families, unschoolers, and everyone else.

Please teach your children about plagiarism - what it is, why it is wrong, and the consequences of getting caught.  Teach them about intentional versus unintentional plagiarism, and how to work to avoid both.

While I'm sure that most of your little angels would never purposely use someone else's work and pass it off as their own, it is still something you should discuss with them.  It is very much a problem in our world, not just in classrooms, but in business, journalism, blogging, and beyond.  Unfortunately, the internet makes it much easier to plagiarise both on purpose and by accident. 

Even with the technology available today, and the sneaky ways in which students are learning to use technology to hide intentional cheating, it is still not that hard to catch them. 

I currently teach two college level English courses, and I have caught students plagiarising in both classes.  Often it is accidental (usually a misplaced or missing quotation mark, or an improper citation), but I also have found several cases of blatant plagiarism where the students have tried to pass off the work of another as their own.  It's not that hard to catch if the teacher is paying attention.

Make sure your kids are informed about the issue of plagiarism - what it is, how to avoid it, how to cite other sources, and what to do if they are accused of plagiarism.  I am passing out a bunch of F's in both of my courses this week, and if these students are caught again, they will flunk my class and face the Academic Honesty committee.  You don't want your kid to have to go through that.

Sincerely,

Me