Cheating and keeping answer keys inaccessible....

[ThelmaLou]

I've stumbled upon my first instance of cheating with one of my kids, and I've decided to keep all answer keys "under lock and key." Now that I think about it, though, I don't really want to keep a key on my person at all times. I'd rather have a combination file cabinet, but I'm having trouble finding one online. Every cabinet I've found is more like a safe--fireproof and 3 feet thick. I'm not worried that my kids will set fire to the answer keys or body slam the cabinet, for crying out loud. I just want a basic file with a combination. And I don't want to pay $500 for the thing. Any suggestions?

[Kris]

I've stumbled upon my first instance of cheating with one of my kids, and I've decided to keep all answer keys "under lock and key." Now that I think about it, though, I don't really want to keep a key on my person at all times. I'd rather have a combination file cabinet, but I'm having trouble finding one online. Every cabinet I've found is more like a safe--fireproof and 3 feet thick. I'm not worried that my kids will set fire to the answer keys or body slam the cabinet, for crying out loud. I just want a basic file with a combination. And I don't want to pay $500 for the thing. Any suggestions?

 

Might not help at all -- and I'm not sure how much "stuff" you want to lock up -- but you can get a brief case with a combination lock pretty cheaply.

[gardening momma]

I started doing an online search, and realized you probably don't need an entire cabinet, so I started looking for a box instead. I came across a brand called "Vaultz", and they have various products, called file boxes, security boxes, locking chests, etc...

[gardening momma]

Here's one for $27.07 http://www.buyonlinenow.com/viewproduct.asp?sku=IDEVZ01004 It's on the smaller side...10" x 7 3/8" x 8 5/8". There's also a letter size box available at this same website for $38.99.

[ThelmaLou]

Thanks for the suggestion. I love the Vaultz idea. Found it on Office Depot. They offer free next day shipping and I had a coupon code for $20 off $75. I added a few packs of .9mm mechanical pencils, and the whole package should arrive tomorrow. Thanks for all the input, everyone! Here's the size I purchased:

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/110432/Vaultz-Locking-Letter-Legal-File-Chest/

I started doing an online search, and realized you probably don't need an entire cabinet, so I started looking for a box instead. I came across a brand called "Vaultz", and they have various products, called file boxes, security boxes, locking chests, etc...

[klmama]

Given that this is the first instance of cheating, do you really think it's necessary to lock up the keys? What if you just required the dc to do their work for in your presence or away from the keys so you could verify that they were doing it themselves? A locking cabinet seems like overkill to me and tells the dc that you aren't giving them a second chance to prove themselves trustworthy.

[abbeyej]

I agree with kidlovingmama. A *first* instance of cheating would warrant a stern discussion of cheating, the purpose of school work, character and integrity, etc. But I wouldn't "lock up" the teacher's manuals. In fact, I would want to go the opposite direction and leave them out in the open. I want to send the message that I know my kids *can* and *will* resist that temptation, and I think locking up the TMs makes it seem like I believe they can't resist that temptation. Of course, I would be extra vigilant for a while, keeping an eye on them and praising them for doing the work on their *own*.

 

But I would only consider a locking cabinet if I believed my child really *couldn't* be trusted not to cheat. I would consider a single instance more of an experiment / testing boundaries thing.

[Guest Katia]

I have never seen the need to keep the answer key from my dc. The purpose of our school is to learn and often times we simply can't figure out what answer the question is asking for and so my dc will look in the answer key. NOW they know the answer instead of wondering what is might be or getting a red check mark; neither of which is furthering their knowledge.

 

But they do ask before they look in the answer key, so perhaps you could tell your child that just looking in the key on their own is not ok, but they should ask you first. I wouldn't lock it up. That really sends message of distrust and blame.

[ThelmaLou]

Let me clarify. I initially discovered that *some* test answers were memorized from an answer key. Slowly, over the course of about a week and some further investigation my child admitted to having cheated not only on the *entire* test, but on several other tests in other subjects over an extended period of time, as well as on homework assignments. I had to really dig to discover all of this. He admitted to a pattern of cheating that I had been totally oblivious to. The one instance was the tip of the iceberg.

 

In light of the fact that it's an obvious temptation for him, and could likely be a temptation for my other children at some point, my husband and I decided we needed to remove the temptation altogether. It's about being above reproach. When I want to avoid the temptation to eat chocolate, I remove it from the house. When I want to ensure that my kids aren't tempted to look at inappropriate material on the internet, I use a filter and/or keep the computer locked when I'm away from home and have to leave them here. Certainly, at some point, they'll have a greater ability to cheat, eat chocolate and look at inapproriate websites should they choose to do so. But at this age, I don't see the value of leaving answer keys around the house when he has clearly given in to the temptation a number of times. I can say from experience, too, that after you've taken the first step toward doing the wrong thing, it gets easier to cross that threshold the second and third time.

 

I've also considered the fact that no school or teacher would allow the possibility of access to answer keys in their wildest dreams. Cheating is a real problem for many students. Telling my son I think he can be trustworthy and leaving the answer keys out for him to prove it does not create a trustworthy boy in and of itself.

 

I'm not trying to teach my son that I don't trust him or that he can't earn my trust back. I am trying to teach him that he should "flee temptation", as scriptures say. We've showered our love on him throughout this ordeal. He knows we're on his team. He knows we've both struggled with our own sins. We are in no way condemning him or belittling him. We're simply trying to create a way that he can know and we can know he's been above reproach. I know he can't cheat when he doesn't have access.

[ThelmaLou]

I have never seen the need to keep the answer key from my dc. The purpose of our school is to learn and often times we simply can't figure out what answer the question is asking for and so my dc will look in the answer key. NOW they know the answer instead of wondering what is might be or getting a red check mark; neither of which is furthering their knowledge.

 

But they do ask before they look in the answer key, so perhaps you could tell your child that just looking in the key on their own is not ok, but they should ask you first. I wouldn't lock it up. That really sends message of distrust and blame.

 

Yes, this is exactly how we've been running our school. Answer keys are all over the place. I even have my kids check their own work sometimes with a red pen. But I'll admit I was very loosey goosey about it. I assumed everyone was telling the truth and never even considered it. As I look back, I see the effort in certain instances for him to be deceptive. There were even instances where he outright lied. He knew full well what he was doing all along, and the longer he got away with it, the more deeply entrenched it became as a habit. I'm not sure I trust *myself* to be able to detect it. I don't think I'm sending a message of distrust and blame, although I will say that if he's been untrustworthy, I'm not sure why I need to send a message that I trust him at this point. Having been caught does not make him trustworthy all of a sudden, or warrant leaving the answer keys in the same spot. I love him dearly, but helping him battle his temptations does not have to entail putting him right back in a situation where it's easy to repeat the same offense. Maybe I'm seeing this wrongly, I don't know.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Did you talk to your son about it? Does he think he needs you to handle the situation at this point? Honestly, it's WAY too soon, imo, to put them up. He continued doing it because it wasn't something you were working together as a team about and he was benefiting by doing so. He will benefit to a greater degree by dealing with the natural consequences of those choices, working out a way to do better, and working together with his parents. I would consider it only if he felt that was the only way he could handle it at this point. Even then, I'd still lean towards not putting them up yet.

 

Also, I don't know the age of this young man, but a huge part of my parenting is giving my kids the skills and tools they need in life. They have GOT to learn to monitor themselves, resist temptation, come up with solutions that work, etc. I'd spend more time helping him do that then taking the responsibility upon myself. However, *I* have given my mom money to hold for me, for example. If HE felt it necessary to lock up the answer keys, then maybe he should buy a box for that purpose and give you the keys (or combination).

 

HTHs

Edited December 2, 2008 by 2J5M9K

[tibbyl]

I have never seen the need to keep the answer key from my dc. The purpose of our school is to learn and often times we simply can't figure out what answer the question is asking for and so my dc will look in the answer key. NOW they know the answer instead of wondering what is might be or getting a red check mark; neither of which is furthering their knowledge.

 

But they do ask before they look in the answer key, so perhaps you could tell your child that just looking in the key on their own is not ok, but they should ask you first. I wouldn't lock it up. That really sends message of distrust and blame.

 

That is way we handled curriculum that had an answer key, Katia.

 

In fact, VideoText Algebra actually recommends that student check his answer against the detailed solution manual BEFORE he proceeds on to the next problem.

[Peela]

When it happened here, I just slipped the answer sheets in between books on my shelves- or on my desk, and the problem was solved. But what works for me may not work for you. I was very upset, made him do many pages of maths again, and simply cut the answer sheet form the back of the book and hid them. I also talked to him about it, and how if he didn't learn the concepts now, it was going to get very difficult later and he would have to repeat a lot of work- so I tried to point out to him that it was in HIS best interests not to cheat- thus shifting it from a purely moral issue to a practical one.

I agree that not putting tempation in the way of a kid who is tempted to cheat, is important. My own approach is to prefer not to turn my kid into a cheater, by not putting temptation in his way, rather than "test" him. However, I am fairly lax about it because the issue did seem to resolve by just keeping the answer sheets on my desk or out of sight.

My dd however uses the answers- there are no solutions- in her maths, regularly, to check she is understanding the concepts. I trust her that she is using them approprately and we discuss it every now and then to make sure she is not abusing the privelege.

[Nicole M]

I want to throw out another idea here. Don't know if this is the case for your child at all, but I work at a college where there are regular instances of cheating a plagiarism. In every instance, the act was one of desperation. The student was in a bind, and made very bad choices with awful consequences. If I found that my child had cheated, I would consider the possibility that we were either trying to move at a pace that was too fast for him, or that something was missed along the way, that there was some hole in his learning. Or, in the case of tests, that I had not given him enough instruction about how to prepare for a test. I would practice studying with him, especially if removing temptation led to despair and dismal scores.

[Nestof3]

In fact, VideoText Algebra actually recommends that student check his answer against the detailed solution manual BEFORE he proceeds on to the next problem.

 

This only works for students who really want to know how to do the problem. Believe it or not, there are those who couldn't care less and just want to copy the answers.

 

My son always knew he could come to me and ask questions if he were having a difficult time with a problem. But, he was also the kind for many years who would rather just get the answer and take the easy way out rather than trying it first and then correcting it if it were wrong.

[ThelmaLou]

If I found that my child had cheated, I would consider the possibility that we were either trying to move at a pace that was too fast for him, or that something was missed along the way, that there was some hole in his learning.

 

Nicole, yes this was my first thought, too. But after we asked him and even suggested that maybe he was feeling too much pressure, he admitted that no, he just didn't want to put in the time to study. The particular day in question he just wanted to get it over with, practice magic, and play airsoft. We have had work ethic problems with him more than any of our other kids. His goal is typically to finish, not to learn. As Dawn said, he just plain wanted the answers without doing the work. Even he admitted it wasn't an issue of too much pressure or being overwhelmed.

[Riverfront Headmistress]

I wouldn't lock up answers. Cheating happens; this is a wonderful learning opportunity for your child(ren). With our fast-connected society we are always a moment away from having an answer. Children (as well as adults) need to be prepared to work problems themselves. Locking up the answers isn't going to help. What happens years down the road when its time to write expositories? Locking up the internet is really not an option. Teach them now.

[Rosie_0801]

What would happen if you pointed out that cheating is whimpy? One might not care at being dubbed lazy, but whimpy is another thing altogether.

 

Rosie

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm glad you got a locked box that you like.

 

I know that you will also continue to work on the character issues too. You go, girl! I know that it is tough to work on this stuff - so much depends on them wanting to make their own heart changes, doesn't it.

[ABQmom]

Nicole, yes this was my first thought, too. But after we asked him and even suggested that maybe he was feeling too much pressure, he admitted that no, he just didn't want to put in the time to study. The particular day in question he just wanted to get it over with, practice magic, and play airsoft. We have had work ethic problems with him more than any of our other kids. His goal is typically to finish, not to learn. As Dawn said, he just plain wanted the answers without doing the work. Even he admitted it wasn't an issue of too much pressure or being overwhelmed.

 

Oh how I hear you on this one! "Goal is to finish, not to learn." Yep. I have one of those. I'm glad you started this thread because it's something I've been thinking about since I caught one of mine studying for her math test by looking at the math test and asking me questions about it! I have been too relaxed about answer keys and test booklets. I have wondered how long it would take the kids to figure out the answer keys are right there for everyone to see.