This weeks reading response was very important and necessary. Although I am in courses with individuals who are graduating in just a few short weeks, I still see many people cut and paste material they find. I am floored to see individuals who aren't just careless about citation but individuals who could "CARE LESS". I am shocked by the unethical choices that they fail to see as critical.
I am not saying that I don't mess up or that people do not mess up when they cite. I am saying that I see work and have worked with people in groups that fail to recognize that they are doing something wrong or worse, care that they are doing something wrong.(NOT IN THIS CLASS...I love my group.)
Our discussion on Wednesday in class made me think about the situation further. Mr.Ghering brought up the idea that maybe it is a difference in times. Since I am closer to his age I am inclined to believe this too. It seems to me that MANY adolescents and young adults today do not have the fear of doing something wrong. When I was in those stages of life, I never made statements or comments about certain subjects out of fear of what others would think about me. For example, I didn't curse in front of people older than me, I didn't dare tell anyone I just didn't care about a project that I was doing for their class, nor did I dare do something I was told not to do. I did this out of just fearing I would do something that would cause someone to be let down by my actions or think differently about me. I also did this out of respect.
It seems that today that there is no fear of offending other people, upsetting someone by not doing what was asked, or getting in trouble for not following the directions.
We talked briefly about the consequences for plagiarism and I think those are emphasized enough in many of our classes. Usually there is a brief sentence or two about plagiarism in the syllabus but that is about all I ever see.