Students hear it all the time. Cheat once, you get a zero, cheat twice and you get banished to the shadow realm—or something like that. It’s very clear that the school doesn’t take dishonesty lightly when it comes to students and work they claim to do. But teachers, on the other hand, seem to get a free pass when it comes to bending the rules.
Each year, as ASB’s annual canned food drive rolls around, the same issue comes up: an unfailing handful of teachers end up in the top spots, with hundreds of cans, whereas the majority of teachers barely break into to double digits. The top can collectors, however, often get their mountains of cans by offering extra credit to students who bring in tons of cans. Though feeding the less fortunate and doing good in the community is beneficial, it should be done legally and fairly. Having students bring in goods for points is little better than bribing.
Extra credit, according to Assistant Principal Mr. Lohman, is only allowed if it reflects the student’s mastery of the subject, relates to the academic goals of the course and is an equal opportunity for each and every student. Bringing in 20 cans of tuna or a tissue box with a quote from an obscure author written on it should not contribute to deciding whether or not a student has mastered the curriculum.
While some students can afford to bring in cans, tissues or other goods, many students and their families simply cannot due to their financial situations. Some of the students who attend TCHS literally rely on those same cans donated during the drive to get by. To deny these students the equal opportunity for extra points for the sake of a pizza party and meaningless bragging rights flies in the face of the principles of a public education and contradicts statements by teachers who claim to always put their students’ educations first.
Some of the same teachers who are always punishing and scolding students for copying homework assignments are breaking the rules and justifying it by saying that it is “for a good cause.” If these teachers truly cared for the needy and wanted to help them, they should not try to do so by breaking or bending the rules and certainly not by incentivizing students who may already be in dire financial situations to try to buy their own grades.
Offering students points for bringing in goods is a gross perversion of the concept of extra credit and simply cannot be allowed to continue.