Margaret and I are writing editorials representing conflicting opinions on the ethics of cheating.
It’s Never Right
It’s a “kindergarten” virtue; one everybody learns at the same time they are told to look both ways before crossing the street: cheating is not right. It’s a simple fact, one which should be simple to live with, and yet so many students overlook the tug of conscience they get when they cheat. Why?
Everybody wants to feel proud of themselves. That’s why athletic students join the sports teams and musically talented ones join the band, orchestra, or chorus. People also feel proud of themselves when they earn a good grade in a class, especially when it is for a difficult assignment. Unfortunately, some students do not work hard for their grades. Just as an athlete doesn’t feel really proud of a game won because the referee made a bad call in his or her favor and the musician can’t glory in the applause of a concert when they know they were “air-bowing,” a student can never feel very good about a good grade they earned through cheating.
The student who cheats knows that he or she has not learned the material. When they finish a unit, they do not carry away knowledge to apply in their lives. They have only a plagiarized report in their hand, or maybe a column of letters memorized from multiple choice answers running through their mind. They feel an insecurity, whether acknowledged or subtle, that eats away at their confidence. They are not happy with themselves, but they are unable to break their pattern.
Once a student succumbs to cheating, once a good grade is earned dishonestly but unpunished, the act of cheating becomes addictive. The student may not be able to answer critical thinking questions, but hey—they’re passing the course! Their perspective is shifted, and their ideals are lowered. There is also the danger of the cheating then extending beyond the school walls into the rest of their life.
The impact of cheating stretches beyond the individual student. Just as a domino in a row cannot fall without toppling each domino to its sides, one student’s cheating can alter the entire school community. When teachers find that their students are cheating, they are forced to respond by taking away privileges such as take-home tests and instead enforcing rules, such as assigned seating.
The friends of a cheater begin to shy away from their companion’s crooked path. The closest friends, who had shared confidences with the cheater, suddenly have reason to fear for the safety of their secrets. They spend more time with people who they feel they can trust.
Other peers respond to a person’s cheating with frustration and anger. Some will take up cheating in self-defense, because they feel that they must take this measure to match the grades of the cheater. The entire community feels the stress. Each person becomes more reserved, more cautious, more isolated, less sensitive to others’ needs. When individuals revert to thinking only for themselves, the community loses its sense of caring.
The effects of cheating do not end with the school years or stop inside the school community. Cheating can affect the individual’s adult life and have an impact on the world beyond the school. A student who would cheat to get a good grade on a test would have a difficult time resisting cheating in college to get into the right graduate school or to land that perfect job. Once they have that job, the cheating is bound to continue—with side effects that hurt everyone in the new community.
Doctors who cheat by not examining their patients carefully enough to come to a correct diagnosis put their patients’ lives at stake. Teachers who cheat by grading unfairly or not putting thought into their lesson plans cause all but the most motivated students to give up on learning in a class. Accountants who look the other way when numbers do not add up—as did many accountants who worked for Enron—run the risk of creating financial hardship for unsuspecting and innocent employees and investors.
The ultimate goal of a person should always be to improve themselves in character, honesty, and integrity. Cheating is never part of the character of a strong person.
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Annie Matsko
When it Snows
When it snows in Washington, people go berserk
Traffic snarls, commuters shout, and no one gets t o work
Cars and trucks and limousines, abandoned all around,
Up and down Route 66, we hear the sirens sound
The business world may not be very fond of inclement weather, but the same cannot be said for the school systems. As temperatures settle around 32° Fahrenheit, both students’ and teachers’ minds home in on one great question: “Will we have a snow day?”
Out come the snow charms. When she was in elementary school, Thomas Jefferson freshman Lizzie Teague said that she would sing “When it Snows in Washington,” a snow-celebrating song composed by the school’s music teacher, Ellyn Pence. Lyrics to "When it Snows in Washington" are spread throughout this article, distinguishable by italicized type.
Maria Kanakis, a freshman attending McLean High School, wears her pajamas inside out on evenings when forecasted flurries threaten to close schools. She also confesses to dancing in front of the open door of her freezer and said that “Sometimes...not usually, but sometimes...I throw ice out of the window.”
“But,” Kanakis added hastily, “of course, I don’t believe that doing that will work.”
If your car slides in a ditch, you call Triple A,
But you’ll find the workers there have gone home for the
day
Offices are closed and dark as people hurry past
They can hardly wait to say, “Safe at home at last!”
When it snows in Washington, the roads get slick as silk
Everyone runs to the stores to get some bread and milk
Moms and dads wi ll panic when the schools are all let out,
But the kids and teachers will all begin to shout
There is, in fact, very little guesswork involved in the calling of snow days, late openings, and early dismissals. Dean Tistadt, Fairfax County’s Assistant S uperintendent in charge of the Department of General Services, can attest to this. Tistadt’s job is to gather the information needed to make the decision of whether or not to cancel schools, then present his information to Daniel Domenech, the Superintendent of the Fairfax County Public School System.
Tistadt said that he begins his research by questioning the county’s security staff, which evaluates conditions on school parking lots and sidewalks, the transportation staff, the Department of Highways, and the police department, which report on road conditions. “All of this happens around 3:00,” Tistadt said. Students and teachers often regard snow days as days to sleep in and relax. The chair of the Department of General Services does not enjoy this lu xury.
The decision-making process culminates at about 4:00 a.m. “We have a huge conference call with about 50 to 60 people from local governments and other school systems such as Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Prince William’s County, an d we all take notes and try to agree on what to do,” said Tistadt. “Nearby counties like to act together in opening or closing schools. When we reach a decision, we end the conference call. Then, I call Domenech with the final decision.” A decision to can cel or delay school must be reported to the news networks by 5:00 a.m.
Decisions to close school early must be finalized by 10:30 on the morning of the day in question. Tistadt said that early closings generally result on occasions when he and his commi ttee are not as careful when making decisions. “Last year...we had two early closings. We didn’t believe the forecast, and so we had to close early,” he said. However, Tistadt’s careful procedures and Domenech’s compliance with his committee’s decisions h as kept the tally of early closings fairly low.
“Domenech always makes the final call in these decisions,” said Tistadt, “but he usually agrees with my advice. We have many thoughtful discussions.”
Besides human sources, several machine-operated devic es contribute information to each school cancellation decision. Fairfax County integrates the intelligence of a program called AccuWeather, which faxes weather reports directly to Tistadt, WeatherTap, an internet program to which the county has subscribed, and weather updates from the National Weather Service.
“The big challenge in this job is being accurate,” said Tistadt, “We have to do everything possible to make sure we’re making the right decisions. The real challenge is when the choice is not definite, like when the forecast says that it’s going to start snowing at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning, after our decision needs to be publicized.”
The decision that Domenech types on the Fairfax County web page and issues to local television networks and radio stations profoundly affects the approximately 160,000 students enrolled in the county, which spreads over 400 square miles.
The weatherman said warm and clear as it was coming down,
He’s now predicted there will be 12 inches on the ground
Some f olks will spend a long cold night, gridlocked in their cars
Stranded on the Wilson Bridge, underneath the stars
When there is a substantial amount of snow, many students spend at least part of their day off outdoors. Sledding, going for walks, and makin g snowmen are typical things to do. “I really like to have snowball fights,” said Kanakis in an aggravated tone, “but no one ever wants to have them.”
Doing homework or getting ahead on homework assignments are rarely priorities in the agenda of a “liberated” student. Said Kanakis, “I do try to get ahead with my homework, but that’s so boring!” Students must be careful with how they spend snow days because snow days are rare treats in Fairfax County, which frequently manages to dodge storms coming from the north or the east. Last year, according to Tistadt, only two school days were canceled for snow.
Fairfax County requires each school year to be 180 days long. Three snow days are built into each year to allow for emergency closings. On years when th e number of snow days called exceeds 3, the excess amount of days missed must be made up. Three-day weekends and teacher workdays are sometimes cut to suit this purpose. The frowning faces which accompany students to school on make-up days are testimony t o the unpopularity of the concept of sticking to the 180-day school year.
Many teachers see reason in making up two or three days, but feel that larger amounts of make-up days are counterproductive. Barbara Matsko, a learning disabilities teacher at Chesterbrook Elementary School, feels that extending the school year into the summer is excessive, and that the county should not follow the 180-day rule so strictly.
Matsko explains this position by giving examples. “Some people go into vacations, kids go to camp, and some teachers take academic classes to advance their degrees. Teachers enjoy snow days more than students. As grownups, we don’t get that many holidays. It’s really a shame to have to make up all of the ‘holidays.’”
Despite this controversy, snow days remain popular among students and teachers, if not the many county officials who must be up early the morning before, planning them.
When it snows in Washington, we know where to go
We’ll get our boots and coats and hats and rush out to the snow
The hills are out and calling us, and we know what to do
We’ll glide and slide, won’t go inside until our lips turn blue
Snow days are holidays, the very best kind of all,
Snow days are lazy days, although we slip and slide and fall
The worl d is new and clean and bright, it’s a blessing in disguise
A wonderland of sheer delight that is magic to our eyes!
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Interview with Dean Tistadt, Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Depar tment of General Services
Good morning. My name is Annie Matsko. As you’ve probably been
informed, I am a 9th grade student at McLean High School, and I’m
interviewing you for an article I’m writing for my journalism class about
emergency school cance llations.
1. First, let me make sure I’ve got your name right. You are Mr. Tistadt, the
Assistant Superintendent for the Department of General Services.
Tistadt: (almost sounding impatient) Yes, that’s T-I-S-T-A-D-T.
Annie: Ok, Mr. Dean Tistadt…T-I-S-T-A-D-T, is that correct?
Tistadt: Yes.
2. Thank you. What exactly is your role in calling school cancellations?
Tistadt: Well, I gather the information needed to cancel school and I contact the superintendent with my information.
3. When I was thinking a bout questions to ask you during this interview,
visited the Fairfax County web page. I saw that you use a program called AccuWeather to help you decide when to cancel school. How accurate is AccuWeather?
Tistadt: Ah, yes, actually, one big challenge in t his job is being accurate. We do use AccuWeather, but we use many other sources. There are lots of sources that help us decide when to call in a snow day. For example, we use an internet source called Weathertap, which the county has subscribed to. We als o use the national weather service. There are a whole lot of sources.
Annie: How does AccuWeather work?
Tistadt: AccuWeather sends out faxes to us, and we evaluate them and look at all our other sources.
Annie: And when do you need to make a final decision?
Tistadt: To close school, the decision must be sent in before 5:00 a.m. To end school early, the decision must be made by 10:30.
4. What is the average number of snow days you call per winter season?
Tistadt: That’s a very good question. The last two winters have been very mild, and so we only had about two snow days each of the years. There is, of course, a three-day limit on how many snow days we’re able to call without having to make them up.
5. Sometimes, school is cancelled for reasons besides snow, reasons that are
not related to winter weather at all. I remember that last year, school was cancelled when Hurricane Floyd came. This year, schools were closed on September 12. About how many unscheduled closings usually occur that are not related to winter weather?
Tistadt: Closings like that are a very rare event. I haven’t had the experience to answer your question.
Annie: How long have you been in this job?
Tistadt: I’ve been in the county for 12 years, and I’ve worked in this department for tw o and a half years.
Annie: And you’ve only seen a handful of closings that were not related to snow. Wow.
Tistadt: You’re absolutely right about school being closed last year for Hurricane Floyd. We made the decision to close school based on the high wind s. There’s a county rule that when winds blow over 40 mph, students cannot go to classes in trailers. It’s not safe.
6. Back to snow-related closings. If there was a disproportionate number of
snow days, even more than there were the year we had those 1 3 or 14 closings, would students have to make up each one that exceeded the three-day limit?
Tistadt: (no-question-about-it voice) Absolutely. Fairfax County requires that each school year have 180 days.
Annie: Even if there were a whole month of snow day s?
Tistadt: Yes. It’s a county regulation. When I was in high school in Fairfax County, we had a year when there were lots of snow days. We had to make them up on Saturdays. Sometimes, time is added to each school day to make up for lost time.
Annie: I re member one year, I think I was in 5th grade, when an extra half hour was added to each day.
7. Who is on your committee for determining whether or not to call in a
cancellation?
Tistadt: Oh, there are a lot of people who are involved in the decision making process. A lot of people. Would you like to know some of them?
Annie: Yes, please.
Tistadt: Well, one source I go to is the security staff, who I call around 3:30 in the morning when there’s a chance that school will need to be cancelled. The security staff looks at the parking lots and sidewalks. It’s not just bus riders who we have to look out for. We’ve also got to consider the safety of students who walk to school. Around 3:00 to 3:15, I talk to the transportation staff about the roads. I then talk to the police department, the department of highways, and the council of local governments. At about 4:00 in the morning, we have a huge conference call with about 50-60 people from local governments and other school systems like Montgomery County, Princ e George’s County and Prince William’s County and we all take notes and try to agree on what to do. Our nearby counties like to act together in opening or closing schools. Then, I call Dominech with the final decision.
Annie: For students and teachers, sn ow days mean a chance to sleep in. It doesn’t look like you get to sleep in at all!
Tistadt: No, we don’t. We are up very early in the morning.
Annie: I had no idea deciding whether or not to close school was so complicated. It must be a real challenge t o decide.
Tistadt: The real challenge is when the choice is not definite, like when the forecast says that it’s going to snow at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning, after our decision needs to be publicized.
8. After all of that careful thought and all of thos e phone calls, do you get calls from parents or students who disagree with your decision?
Tistadt: Not a huge amount of calls, but we do get some. This Wednesday [January 23], Montgomery County made the very unusual decision to shut down at 7:30 in the mo rning because of the ice on the roads. Some parents called, wondering why we hadn’t made the same decision. That’s a very hard thing to do, though. At 7:30, some kids are already at school, others are waiting at their bus stops. You’ve got to do something with the kids who are already at school, and safety is always the first priority in our decisions. Still, there are never that many angry calls. I’ve never had a call from anyone who was too hard to handle. Someday, I probably will…but there are surprisi ngly few people who call to complain.
Annie: Does anyone ever call to say that they approve of your decisions?
Tistadt: Every once in a while, we do get positive feedback. Usually, our compliments come by email, but sometimes, parents call. Our decision t o not close schools early on September 11 got lots of compliments from parents.
Annie: I remember that lots of kids were picked up early on September 11, though.
Tistadt: Yes, we had no problem with parents picking kids up. But we didn’t want to close ear ly when we knew that so many parents would be stuck in traffic and getting home very late. This was especially a concern for elementary school children. We decided to stay the course and not close early and that turned out to be a good decision.
9. Somet imes, even the best-informed people can make an error in
judgment. Can you recall a specific instance when your committee made a wrong call?
Tistadt: Last year, you might remember that we had two early closings. We didn’t believe the forecast, and so we h ad to close early.
Well, those are all of the questions that I had wanted to ask you. Thank you so much for letting me have this time to interview you. This has been very helpful.
Interview with Barbara Matsko, Teacher for Fairfax County and my mother
1. Do you think that teachers or students get more excited about snow days?
Mrs. Matsko: (R) Teachers get more excited. I know; I've been both a teacher and a student. When there's a possibility of a snow day, the weather is all the teachers talk about i n the teachers' lounge at lunch time. Everyone talks about the pros and cons, and how many days have already been used up.
Annie: Are you sure that teachers get the most excited? Students get pretty excited, too. We discuss whether we'd rather have red or silver days off…
Matsko: If a possible snow day ends up not becoming a snow day, the kids just shrug it off. Teachers are devastated. I think that this is because as grownups, we don't get that many holidays. This makes snow days more important.
2. In g eneral, do you consider cancelations from inclement weather to be a nuisance or a fun event?
Matsko: Definitely fun, but when they have to be made up, the "extra" days destroy the academic program.
Annie: What's the greatest number of snow days you can remember having in one year?
Matsko: Maybe 10, 12.
3. If huge amounts of days are missed due to snow, should they all be made up?
Matsko: No, I don't think they should all be made up. Snow days are just 'acts of God,' natural disasters that cancel school. There is a point after which it becomes counterproductive to make up days, especially when they cut into summer. Some people go on vacations, kids go to camp, some teachers take academic classes to enhance their degrees.
Annie: I remember the time when d ays were made up by adding half an hour to each day. Is that the kind of waste you're talking about?
Matsko: The added time was wasteful, kids pretty much threw spitballs, but it was preferable to extending the school year.
4. Do you think that Superinte ndent Dominech does a good job in deciding when to call snow days?
Matsko: (B) Yes, I usually agree with his decisions. Because we live in an unusual area, we've got to excuse him for occasional judgmental errors.
Interview with Lizzie Teague, a 9th gra der who attends Thomas Jefferson
1. Do you have any good luck snow day rituals?
Lizzie: (almost scornfully) No, not really. I just hope. When I was younger, I'd sing when it snows in Washington sometimes, but I've never really had any "rituals."
Annie: Yo u've never worn your pajamas backwards, done a snow dance, anything like that?
Lizzie: My sister (Rebecca, 3rd grader) may have worn her pajamas backward once or twice…not usually.
2. What do you usually do when school is delayed?
Lizzie: I do the same routine, but I get up one or two hours later, depending on the day. Same routine, I just do it an hour later.
3. What do you do when school is canceled?
Lizzie: Oh, well then, I like to sleep until 9:00. Then, I start my homework.
Annie: Such a motivated student…
Lizzie: Well, I actually meant that I start my homework around 4:00. A little earlier than usual. I don't really start it early, though.
Annie: Don't you ever go outside in the snow?
Lizzie: If it's good snow, I go out and sled. Sometimes, I take a walk in it. If its not good snow, I just stay inside and watch it.
4. Has a snow day ever really interfered with your classes or school activities in an inconvenient way?
Lizzie: R I think that teachers may find snow days inconvenient, but I never hav e. We actually don't get that many snow days…except for years when we get tons of them…so they haven't really interfered much with my activities. My extracurriculars have never been canceled.
5. The superintendent is in charge of callingrsnow days. Do you think that he usually does a good job?
Lizzie: B Yes. Every once in a while, there are days when I wonder 'Why didn't we get a delay?' because the roads are kind of icy. But B pretty much, I think that the days are called well. Except last year, didn't we have that hurricane? That should not have been canceled.
Annie: What do you think about days when school is cancelled and nothing really stays on the roads?
Lizzie: I never mind those.
Interview with Maria Kanakis, a 9th grader who attents McLean High School
1. When you think that there's a chance that a snow day could be called, do you have any good luck snow day rituals?
Maria: Well, I don't believe in them, of course…
Annie: Of course.
Maria: But I dance with the freezer door open and sometimes, I throw ice cubes out of the window…of course I don't believe that that'll work. You're not going to publish this in the school newspaper, are you?
Annie: No, this is just a class publication. We're practicing interviewing schools in journalism.
Maria: Oh, good. Sometimes, I wear my pajamas inside out…I don't believe that works, though.
2. What do you usually do when school is delayed or canceled?
Maria: Relax, try to get more sleep. Sometimes, I try to get ahead with my homework, but that's so boring.
Annie: Don't you ever go outside?
Maria: Oh, yeah! I forgot that part.
Annie: Oh, no biggie. Just the biggest, best part of having a snow day.
Maria: I love to go outside when it snows! I make snowmen. Last year, I made a snow chair. I really like to have snowball fights, but no one ever wants to have them.
Annie: So you spend a lot of your snow days outside?
Maria: Except when days are called for no reason.
3. Has a snow day ever really interfered with your classes or school activities in an inconvenient way?
Maria: (slightly annoyed voice) R Yes. (silence)
Annie: How?
Maria: R One time, my orchestra concert was cancelled. You were in that concert, too. They had to re-schedule it, I think.
Annie: Yeah, I was. So did that annoy you?
Maria: R Well, kind of. I had my evening all planned around the concert, and then I had to reset my mind. It was kind of inconvenient.
4. The superintendent is the person in charge of calling snow days. A small group of advisors helps him. Do you think that they make good dec isions?
Maria: B Yes; Fairfax County is big, and he [the superintendent] has to look at all the different areas. There's never been a time when he hasn't called one that should have been canceled.
Sources I plan on interviewing for this project:
FCPS Su perintendent Daniel Dominech
1. Have you always used AccuWeather? No? What did you use before it? How reliable is AccuWeather? About how much snow or ice justifies calling a snow day?
2. Who is on your committee for determining whether or not to call in a cancellation? Do bus drivers have a say?
3. Do you get calls from students or parents who disagree with your weather-related decisions? Do more callers complain when you don't cancel school or when you do?
4. What is the average number of snow days calle d per winter season?
5. How many unscheduled closings occur that are not related to winter weather (Last year, Hurricane Floyd closed schools, this year, September 12 was spent at home...).
6. Can you recall a specific instance when your committee made a wrong call? What were the consequences?
7. If there was a disproportionate amount of snow days (say a whole month of them), would students have to make up each one that exceeded the three day limit?
McLean High School Principal Dr. Weinheimer
1. When t he weather is such that calling a snow day or a delay is a feasible option, do you get any calls from parents or students trying to persuade you to make a call?
2. Sometimes, school is open on days when weather conditions are very dangerous. It is clear t hat a delay or closing should have been called. Have the consequences of any of these miscallings touched MHS? When? How?
MHS Students (Kel McCormick, Armanda Roco, maybe some others) and Teachers (Ms. Musser...)
1. Do you have any good luck snow day rit uals? Describe them!
2. What do you usually do when school is delayed? What do you do when school is closed for a whole day? What is the coolest thing you've ever done on a snow day?
3. Has a snow day ever really interfered with your classes/school activi ties in an inconvenient way?
4. Do you think that the Superintendent does a good job in deciding when to call cancelations?
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I plan to take my lede from the following two paragraphs. When I wrot e these two, describing the article, I had lede-writing in mind. My only concern is that the language I have used is too casual for a main news article. However, if this paper is to serve largely as entertainment, colorful wording might actually be approp riate.
As temperatures settle around 32°, both students' and teachers' minds home in on one great thought: "will we have a snow day?" Out come the snow charms. "Wear your pajamas inside out and do a snow dance in front of the open freezer," urges one stu dent. Another student swears that throwing ice cubes out of the window has never failed to score a delay.
Surprisingly enough, there IS a science to calling snow days and delayed openings...one which does not require snow dances or ice cubes. The night b efore a potential closing, several Fairfax County workers have their eyes on the weather report and their hands on their telephones. The decision that they make will influence the immediate futures of thousands of students. How on earth do they decide wha t to call? My article will delve into the behind-the-scenes work involved in canceling school.
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-How much snow is enough to justify a snow day?
-Often, snow days are called when only a thin laye r of snow is on the ground and the roads are pretty dry-why call the day at all?
-Do bus drivers have a say in calling cancelations or delays?
-Do students or parents call the county to disagree with these weather-related decisions?
-What is the average n umber of snow days called per winter season?
-How many unscheduled closings occur that are not related to winter weather (Last year, Hurricane Floyd closed schools, this year, September 12 was spent at home...)
-What are the deadline times for decisions regarding school cancelations?
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To properly research this article, I will email or make phone calls to branches of the Fairfax County administration and inquire about general indicators that the staff use to decide whether or not school should be canceled. Also, I will ask those in charge of cancelations to recall specific instances when wrong decisions were made and what the consequences of the decisions were. To give the article a "local newspa per" tone, I will interview Dr. Weinheimer and ask for his views and snow day stories. To balance the "experts'" information with the readers' point of view, I will talk to students and teachers about school cancelations.
JEREMY! In class today, we chose our topics. I'd like you to choose yours as soon as possible. Already taken are school cancelations, the school's new t.v. studio, construction news, and stories pertaining to MHS students and the influences of smoking, drugs, and alcohol.
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~ You could go to the supervisor of schools via e-mail or phone
~ Interview Dr. Weinhimer
~Could include what is a decideing factor in early closings or late openings as well.
~ What are the deadline times for the certain decisions?
~How far does Fairfax County Schools contain? and if it snows only in certain places do you have to close the whole county?
CORY HILLERBRAND
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