That’s What Matt Said. . .
Does Fear Equal Motivation for Exceptional Work?
And so the saga continues . . . I have blogged about TurnItIn.com before, but this new article makes me question the impact teachers have on students. Like I have stated concerns about before, the lack of trust in a classroom between the students and the teacher can cause tension and anxiety in students. In one teachers classroom — that uses TurnItIn — two students were interviewed about the paper they turned in to their teacher. The first student, Kelsey Pence, states that, “‘It scares me, but I’m glad she does it because it teaches us how to cite properly.” The second student, Trina Morgan, states that, “It’s really scary because it picks up everything. It definitely prepares you, but it really, really scares you.” Personally, I am astounded by these statements on many levels.
First, I believe students should have confidence in their writing. When a student one day turns a paper into me, I want the student to believe in their work and effort. If I’m not teaching my students to have confidence in their own work, I would feel like a failure as a teacher. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my students to cheat and lie to me and feel confident about that. I personally don’t believe that this teacher described in the article is really helping her students.
Secondly, I feel that these children are being brainwashed in a strange sense. I can visualize the teacher telling the students, “This is for your own good to stop you from cheating. Plagiarism is like stealing, and stealing is wrong so you will be punished severely for copying work that is not yours.” So rather than students actually understanding what plagiarism ISN’T (hence the fear of being caught even when submitting ORIGINAL work), the teacher focuses on punishment which strikes fear into the students. For instance, Morgan says, “I wish that the first time she could show us where it looks like it could be (plagiarism).” Even if the teacher is educating the students on how to cite, she is not effective in her techniques because the students continue to feel discomfort and anxiety after completing original work. Maybe I’m in one of those critical moods right now, but I just really have difficulty understanding how a teacher can feel he/she is successful if his/her students fear prosecution for their work and efforts. Your thoughts?
Thou Shalt Not Steal . . . Term Papers
by Oseye Boyd
April 9, 2007
