In the excellent article by Sharon Hayes, one important and growing area of cheating in schools was missed, i.e. kids using parents to do their assignments. Most educational systems in Australia have consistently downgraded the importance of exams. Some subjects in Queensland do not use exams at all instead placing a heavy emphasis on assessment using assignments done at least partially at home. This naturally advantages those kids with comfortable middle-class well-educated parents because these parents are very likely to ensure that the assignment is well written and edited, and is well referenced often using home internet access. In short, the parents are cheating for their kids. Hands up those parents who give lots of help with the assignments of their children

But what about the poor child from a disadvantaged background. A parent without a high level of education, and no access to a computer or the internet has little help to offer.

The worst thing about this institutionalized cheating is that it disadvantages the children of the lower socio-economic groups to the advantage of the middle and upper class. A fair education system should be a mechanism for a kid to move out of poor socio-econmic circumstances. Over-use of assignments makes this increasingly difficult for such kids.

I tend to think the shift away from ethics in the younger generation might also be a reflection of the visible acceptance of unethical behaviour in public life.

Politicians of all persuasions appear to believe that it is OK to mislead (lies or omission of crucial details etc) the public.

Celebrities brag about their unethical behaviour, lawyers openly advertise based on "small injury, big $".

Church leaders protect paedophiles in the interest of the churches reputation.

The leagl system seems to care very little about fair play or right and wrong.

Some of that stuff has been happening for a long time but the acceptance of it in the media is much more pronounced than it used to be. How can we expect kids growing up to look to ethical behaviour when our society appears to condone and promote the least ethical to the spotlight?

And the kids whose parents divorce because one or both of them are cheating.

Sorry though, I cannot agree with Ridd and her idea of institutionalised cheating in the form of parents.

The kids that perform best at school are nearly always going to be the ones who have parents who care about their education.

While mum and dad should not complete assignments, the kids with parents that help will do better and should not feel guilty about it.

Remove assignments and just have exams and it will be the kids whose parents encourage them to study and work hard who will no doubt be better represented at the top of the class.

Are you going to ban parents being involved in their kids education because it disadvantages those whose parents are not as committed.

Sorry this a little off topic but Ridd brought it up in the first place - parents helping and encouraging their children should not be considered part of this cheating epidemic Sharon Hayes writes about.

In fact the more parents who actively engage in the education of their kids, the less likely they will want to, or need to cheat.

t.u.s

An issue raised by this discussion is the way the governement has trivialised education. It is no longer about self improvement and development of the person but rather the creation of units of input for the economy. Increased HECS, the abolishment of student unions, budget cuts to courses, the erradication of the arts and the move towards those courses that prepare students for specific vocational pursuits.(Business) No wonder students do not consider the accumulation of intellectual skills as important as getting the peice of paper and to start paying it off. This government gave up on that higher learning emphasis years ago in favour of the almighty dollar and the eradication of independant/dissenting thought. You reap what you sow.

I agree, a good and thought-provoking article.

Also (and somewhat refreshingly) I find myself in almost total agreement with R0bert and t.u.s. on this issue. Our kids are exposed to an unprecedented array of poor role models via the media, and if their parents don't actively counter them (preferably by example) then whence are young people going to derive their values and principles?

I also don't think that the provision by parents of encouragement, assistance, resources etc should ever be viewed negatively. Indeed, as a parent of a couple of school-age kids it is clear to me that the public system in Queensland is dependent at least to some extent on the active co-operation with parents - homework begins early, is regular and ongoing and requires a certain amount of parental vigilance to ensure that it's done properly.

Sure, that doesn't mean you do your kids' homework for them - because that wouldn't really be helping them, would it? I take the point that kids who don't get such support are disadvantaged, which is why I support affirmative action programs targeted at such kids.

I also agree with Bob B that what we are witnessing in our kids is a logical outcome of the recent ascendancy of 'economic rationalism', now morphing into 'neo-conservatism'.

To my mind a perfect example of the mixed messages which we proffer to our kids is to be found in the conscription of Kingaroy schoolkids in the veneration of a deceased, corrupt and tainted politician, who is lauded for his part in stimulating the economic development of Queensland, as if that excuses the countless acts of undemocratic, environmentally damaging and corrupt behaviour committed under his aegis for nearly 20 years.

I agree too with Robert and the others. It's a case of Monkey See, Monkey Do. When young people, and I'm 30, I speak with experience here, witness much acts of corruption, self-indulgence, greed etc by our leaders in government, business, academia, media etc, I could be almost forgiven for thinking that if these guys can tell a lie, I can too. Among the worst of business groups include our industries of defense, tobacco, gambling, property, real estate, media etc. I'm sure that there are others. Our politicians prostitute themselves to these industry groups.

There has been a somewhat growth in American-type fundamentalist christian sects among folks under 40 of lower and middle SES, and/or their progeny. These sects rail against matters like abortion, homosexuality etc, but are often silent on issues of local poverty, inequality, our treatment of the poor and refugees. They command at the same time multi-million dollar turnovers in sales of "self-help" products and also the operation of highly profitable tax-exempt businesses that sometimes undercut local small business. Add to this the sins of the fathers in older traditional groups like the Catholic Church, and you can see that religious leaders are no paragon of virtue either!

What's needed here urgently is positive leadership from those who have power in our community.