Plagiarism in Kansas
A Lesson Learned the Hard Way
It was in Piper High School when a teacher assigned her class a project about leaves where the issue began. Christine Pelton accused 28 of her students of plagiarism and gave them all grades of zero for doing it. Not too long after these students received these grades, the parents started to call in and complain about the teacher. Some parents, on the other hand, backed up the teacher. The school board decided to act and made Ms. Pelton switch the weigh the grades had on the overall average of the student's final grade. The day following this action, Ms. Pelton resigned in protest. In my opinion, this incident should have never been national news because Ms. Pelton did not step out of her boundaries as a school teacher.
These students should have been more accountable for what they did. Ms. Pelton even had the parents and students read and sign a class syllabus that stated what could happen to the students if they did commit plagiarism. After the board decided to switch the overall effect the grade had on the students, 27 out of 28 of the students who plagiarized escaped a failing grade. It was in her right of power to be able to give low grades to the kids for plagiarizing. Not only has this event caused Ms. Pelton to resign but also another teacher has resigned in support and there are several other teachers waiting, unsure if they wish to resign in support as well.
Another outlining symbol noticed in this article was the amount of respect given to teachers anymore. Students now seem to have less respect for teachers then they did in the past. Shortly after resigning, Ms. Pelton had this to say to an interviewer, "I'd lost the kids' respect. I heard kids talking about that if they didn't like what I did in the future, they could go to the board of education and they could change that". This has frightened some other teachers in the district as well. Mr. Lungren, an affiliate of the National Education Association, even went on to say "A large concern for teachers is that if this happens to one of us, one of our own, what's going to keep it from happening to me"?
There were also repercussions within the student body as well. Piper students were being mocked while at an interscholastic sporting event involving Piper, some spectators were holding up signs that said "Plagiarists". This is not fair to the students at Piper High School. If the school board did not fall to the pressure of the parents of the kids who plagiarized, then the whole school could have been better off. It is up to the School board to look out for the best interests of the school, and demeaning one of its own teachers was not a route they should have taken.
At the end of the day, the students who committed plagiarism should have been held accountable. In my opinion, the school board should have backed up its staff and allowed Ms. Pelton to give the failing grades. I do not see how a teacher can be forced to pass students who have willingly plagiarized while fully understanding what the consequences could be.
Andrew Trotter
Plagiarism controversy engulfs Kansas school.
Education Week
Published by Curtis Jones
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5 Comments
Post a CommentThere is nothing to explain about plagiarism; it is really simple. When you put your name on a paper, you are saying that you wrote it. If someone else wrote it, or any significant part of it, and you do not put the words in quotation marks and say where they came from, then putting your name on the paper was a lie. That is plagiarism, pure and simple. The excuse that someone didn't know that they could not pass as their own words from "a website that I did not know was a site that collected other people's works" is a joke. It does not matter who came up with the words; if they are not yours then you did not write them and claiming them as yours is a lie. People know when they have lied; something in your gut should say "hmmm, I am doing something wrong here." Saying later that they did not know it was plagiarism does not wash. And no, it is not sufficient to change a word here and there to make the sentences non-identical.
I see where you are coming from Teri, you should not have been found guilty of such a small case of plagiarism if there was no intent to actually plagiarize. However, this case is different. These students would have received a failing grade at a young age and this, I believe, is one of the better ways to teach young students. They learned a lesson at a young age where they can still make up for a failing grade or suspension. It is even harder to do it in a university setting and there is might be too late to make a recovery.
Christine Pelton was a POOR teacher and set these kids up for failure! Plagiarism needs to be clearly defined. I definitely agree with one of the mother’s statement that this teacher missed a teachable moment, to go back and educate these kids on what plagiarism is and let them re-submit their projects. The fact that she still feels she was right for what she did to these kids proves she is NOT fit to be a teacher…and probably not fit to run a day care!
Maddy I completely DISAGREE!
Hi I could not find any comment thread or forum on your site (perhaps I did not look in the correct place?) I would love to send a message to teacher Christine Pelton (just watched the story on her this evening on 48 hours) I am glad she quit. I am 45 years old and met a professor just like her last year while returning to school to complete my Bachelor's degree. My professor turned me in for plagiarism not because I used someone else's words as my own, but I quoted a website that I did not know was a site that collected other people's works. I simply made an honest mistake and did not know. Note this was not one of the things listed under their plagiarism rules. I had to present my case to the board and I was found guilty of plagiarism so I switched universities. These teachers need to teach their students what plagiarism is, it's obvious these students did not know how to change a sentence and make it their own. Christine Pelton was a POO
Every fall I teach a Student Success class at a community college in Kansas, and I use this event to support our discussion of integrity and academic dishonesty. As an educator and the wife of a high school teacher, I was appalled that what some of the parents and school board members apparently wanted to teach these students was that the rules don't apply to them. What a powerful teachable moment gone awry. As a parent, I am proud that I have had the courage to teach my own children about the importance of personal integrity. My thanks came this fall when my oldest moved away for college and told me that I was a "tough mom," and that he was "better for it."