Students at Hanover High School stole a teacher's key, and then used it to get into the school and steal copies of their upcoming finals. They are now facing criminal charges and the community is debating whether this punishment is appropriate. While they are not facing jail time, the trespassing charges could go on their permanent records because in New Hampshire 17 is considered adult.
I'm not sure how I feel about this situation. I remember feeling the pressure of grades and tests, and I didn't live down the road from Dartmouth. I can appreciate how the expectation to attend an ivy league school increases that pressure beyond anything I felt in high school. On the other hand, they pass out As in this country like Halloween candy. Sure you have to dress appropriately and learn the lingo, but overall, good grades aren't that difficult. Points are passed out for just being present. I think that most of the difficulties students have in class is because we tell them it is going to be difficult. If we would start believing in their ability to learn, so would they.
As far as prosecution goes, I think I support it. If 50 students were involved, it wasn't a spontaneous, bad idea that they had while trying to kill an afternoon. If there was damage done to the school, it needs to be fixed. Fixing requires money, and money requires documentation. Somewhere the school has to write down that there was a breaking and entering incident, and pressing charges is continuing the documentation and covering themselves. I don't want the students to go to jail, and I think a fine would be a slap on the wrist. What I don't want to see is the excuses people are making for them win out. They exist in the same society as we do so our 'notions of honesty' need to coincide.
The problem isn't that this generation doesn't think of downloading music as stealing because this generation hasn't come to an consensus about what to think of downloading music. The problem is the confession of the teacher who said he doesn't talk to his students about academic integrity. Why not? Plagiarism is a growing problem and everyone attributes it to the ease with which students can access papers online. Maybe it is because we don't treat our students like adults. Academic integrity is an adult problem facing graduate students and PhDs so we don't worry our students with it. We need to be appreciating who they are instead of building imaginary relationships with who they will be after graduating from Dartmouth.
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If--and it's a big if--one wants to make the argument that the teacher not discussing academic integrity with the students absolves them of some blame, how does one get past the fact that they stole a key and broke into the school on more than one occasion? Surely the students didn't need to be told that the latter actions were wrong.
It wouldn't have been better if someone had swiped a copy sitting on top of the teacher's desk while the teacher was out of the classroom, but in my mind it's substantially different as far as the punishment that is deserved.
Might parental or community pressure be too high? Sure. That doesn't excuse what they did. Sometimes you have to pay the price for learning a hard lesson. Sounds like it's merited here.
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