Honor Codes Dbq

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Jasmine Ballard
Mr. Murphy
Period 7 AP English
March 3, 2016
Honor Codes
Many people believe that we need honor codes in our schools to prevent large amounts of cheating and plagiarizing. At my school, an honor code would not work. Since it seems to be run by miscreants and troublemakers, an honor code would not be beneficial in making cheaters social outcasts. Humiliation only works if the act that is being persecuted is viewed as humiliating. If no one at the school feels like cheating is a condemnable act, it won't get treated as if it is one.
Take Source B, for example; it states that students were “expected to report or confront a fellow student” if they suspected an act of cheating or plagiarizing. While this idea might seem good in theory, more often than not kids are going to stay quiet. Ridiculed in previous years for being a “tattle”, they've come to realize they're safer from bullying and social judgment if they don't say anything. Becoming dependent on the student body to handle an issue won't stop cheating if they are more inclined to protect someone than to tell the truth. …show more content…

They, from Source C, “are skeptical that signing a piece of paper will suddenly cause a cheater to change his ways”. Signing your name and pledging to not do something doesn't mean that you're going to suddenly stop. Sure, a fair majority might; however, the rest won't. We've seen this time and time again with texting and driving. Adding your name to a list doesn't stop the increase of deaths or injuries in car accidents related to texting, so why would it stop

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