Cheaters never prosper.....

I spent the morning correcting papers for one of the online classes that I teach.
I was appalled at the plagiarism.
Appalled, but not surprised.

There are sites out there where you can buy papers.
Should that be?

There are students out there who are taking care of families, working two jobs and trying to go to school.

Is that a recipe for disaster?

I did what I had to do and rejected their copied work; but I did feel sorry for them.

I know that their heart is going to sink when they see the zero on their papers.

I know that they rationalized the whole thing.

But they have known about this assignment for 8 weeks!

Cheating is not new and in this fast paced world, in may seem like the only way.

But I can very defensive about academia.
I mean, there has to be a place somewhere in the world where people are not lying and there is no subterfuge, right?

These students are seeing news stories every day about how politicians and financiers lie, cheat and steal and have risen pretty far doing so.
Can you blame them for trying?

Unfortunately, I have to.
But I do feel sorry for them.

Where to put my thoughts....

Daisy the Wonder Dog is waiting for me to take her for a walk, so this is going to be short.

Lately, my husband and I have been doing a lot of talking about slowing things down- not slowing down- just slowing things down.

You now, smell the roses...

It all started actually when this economic tsunami hit and it became so incredibly obvious just how discounted we all are as human being by those in power.

Now, it is their sandbox, so I assume they can make the rules.
But we do not have to play the game.

So, we are taking our ball and finding another playground
And we will just play with friends
We will grab every moment we can with our family
We will make sure that our grandkids know us and the generations that went before us
And we will not keep score with dollar signs
And we will let the kids play that no one else wants on their team
And when we have done all of that- we have already won!

working on a dream

Today is the day.
I start teaching new classes at two colleges today.

Since one of them is a "brick and mortar" and the other is online, I have two different mindsets...two different approaches...and I have two very different classes.

One class is for forensic nurses and I am guiding them through the victimology and offender mentality of domestic violence. My objective is for them to come out of this with a better understanding of intimate partner and family violence so that they can be instrumental in prevention, intervention and treatment.

My other class is the real heartstopper. I met these guys last night.
I am director of a new criminal justice program, and last night I met what will be the first graduating class. All ages...all shapes...all sizes...all ethnicities....all full of hope and fear.

Many did not do well in school the first time around.
Some may not do well again
All of them have my undivided loyalty.

So....here we go...working on a dream....