Thread: The Student's Right To Cheat...and other Thai misconceptions about my class.

I've just left a class soaring in the sky with a rocket I lit under it.

5 years into my teaching career here, I'm well aware of the following.

1) If you give a test, you can't give the same one to 8 classes especially not staggered over a period of 3 weeks.

2) You certainly don't give a same test after giving the answers back to other students.

3) Students think teachers are utterly stupid/nonchalant.

4) Students feel that they have the right to cheat.

I did a listening test, and while every student in M5 received the same question paper, I prepared 4 versions of a tape, which would nevertheless fit the paper exactly, but were entirely different.

For the first few classes it all went swimmingly, but by the second week, I had given one set of tests back, but three more were scheduled that week. Not a big problem as I had plenty of spare tapes.

Students were warned before the test that all the tapes were different and that even if they had heard the questions were the same they should make sure they were not influenced by any friends' answers.

Sadly the big mouths in the class I gave tape 2 to first, either didn't listen or didn't belive me, and a xeroxed copy of my test circulated round the whole of M5. I became aware of this shortly before the start of my next test when i spotted students who had not yet heard the tape bussily scrawling answers to a test I wasn't about to give them. They were booted out of the test room immediately.

Over the course of this first test I began to notice certain answers from this xeroxed test showing up...of course they weren't listening, they were too busy trying to remember the answers they'd seen.

I told them 3 times (in Thai), that if students didn't want a zero that they should cross out all answers that were from another classes paper, and I'd give them a score on what they'd done legitimately, but if they didn't cross them out, there's be zeroes all round.

Of course they thought they'd get away with it as usual and ignored me. 20 minutes later i'd announced 15 zeroes in the class.

Today as I gave the papers back one girl decided that I was horrible for giving her zero on a paper where 5 of the questions were straight of the other classes' test, and snatched her paper of me in a rage.

I went mental at her. Told her, that she was lucky I didn't send her down the discipline room and how dare she give me dirty looks for being exposed as a liar, a cheat and a copier, and that it is she that should be waiing at me and saying sorry. I got a half-arsed "sorry", and was given dirty looks from all the other students who had been rumbled.

In total in the year some 46 students have been exposed like this so far in my course and the admin think it's pretty clever that so many students have been failed with such damning evidence of cheating.

The point is though, how come students take this sulky attitude that being punished for copying is unfair. The way they swear blind that they heard all the answers on the tape was just comical, espcially when i asked them to listen to it again and raise their hand on hearing the other classes answer (which of course they can't do)...and then playing the other class' tape to illustrate.

Of course their unused to a dilligent approach to stamping out copying as the Thai teachers don't give a shit, but perhaps if I get nothing else out of this they might be careful with my tests in future.

^ Still off the ciggies mate?

I used to let a mate copy off me at school.....he managed to do that wrong though!

Mate...human nature:

The point is though, how come students take this sulky attitude that being punished for copying is unfair. The way they swear blind that they heard all the answers on the tape was just comical, espcially when i asked them to listen to it again and raise their hand on hearing the other classes answer (which of course they can't do)...and then playing the other class' tape to illustrate.

No one likes being 'caught' out...do they? I know this chap that accused this other chap of saying something racist when he hadn't said anything at all racist....accuser (sp?) never did apologise....actually got a bit angry about it Way of the world generally!

What did you expect....thanks teacher for making me look a fool/cheater/copier etc.???

that's what I did, over the years, actually gave different tests for different rows of seats (especially at the beginning of each term) and after grading their papers, pretty easy to see who cheated, gave them back with a zero and a knowing smile, and say "not again o.k?" and they'd wai and smile and say "o.k. o.k. teacher. and most of them wouldn't do it again

My program small and primary level, but no students cheat. By this I mean that there is no gross cheating. Sure a wandering I may get luck every now and then, but since from p1 on the teachers are like hawks, the lazy stupid students just leave the tests blank rather than cheating.
This year, p1, 2nd week English quiz, 3 students get zero for cheating. Next week quiz, 1 student get zero for cheating. Now those students just leave blank what they don't know.
Other classes too. No cheat sheats or such...
Additionally, those zero-tests are to be brought back signed by their parents or the sit in punishment until so, at which point I personally call the parents.
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^^ sorry about the horrible writing/grammar

School culture here breeds irresponsibility. Teachers model it and students copy it. There is zero accountability. When there's a problem "mai ben lai", "don't be serious" or, in certain circumstances, blame it on the Farang. Privileged children here live in a dreamworld where they are totally divorced from the consequences of their actions.

Big part of why Farangs get frustrated here I think. We value accountability and responsibilty, and they value maintaining the hierarchy and face.

Fortunately I'm at a non-fee-paying Govt school and out English Dept couldn't give a toss about the students faces being lost by me, though they rarely do much about the cheating themselves....it's a case of good on ya...if you can be arsed.

After our recent mid-terms, I got called in by two seperate staff members about why I had failed students for either performing poorly or producing nothing.

Easier to make sure they pass next time I think.