I'm relieved to say the plagiarism case is over. All ten students attended a meeting in Judicial Affairs today, the day before graduation. The five former students were exonerated, and the five current ones received very serious disciplinary penalties from the university, the least of which was me failing them for the course. They are suspended, it's on their records, etc. It is a very, very sad outcome, but I believe it is better for them to learn this lesson now, at age 22, than at age 50 while working for Enron or Anderson. Sometimes learning involves something other than absorbing curriculum.

This brings me to something else that troubles me, wondering whether there was something about this group of students - their age, major, home, whatever - that produced the behavior. I spent some time working as an administrator for a grant in K-14 vocational education. It was not something I was very familiar with before taking the position, and I may even have had some biases about the quality of technical high schools and doubts about what went on there. Turns out, I witnessed some very exciting things; it was a very postive, motivated environment, a really good place for the students who chose to go there.

There is a philosophy, sometimes found in the vocational-technical arena, but also in standard academic environments and among the general public that the primary reason to become educated is for the market - meaning a job, work, career, money, and all sorts of practical reasons. A simple version of the human capital theory, which extends it beyond the individual to productivity. I'm not suggesting there is no debate; others believe that there should be education-for-educaton's sake or for the improvement of humanity, or the enlightenment of the mind (and body and soul), or to create (and assimilate) better citizens.

Anyway, I do remember when I was an undergrad that nearly everyone espoused the education-for-education's sake perspective. There was just the glimmer of the market view. The business major was just starting to expand at traditionally liberal arts schools.

Now I find that college students are fixated on career preparation and the job market. The vocational grant that I mentioned focused on having students learn about and choose careers by eleventh grade, then channeled them into high school preparation programs that closely articulated with associate degree programs, using applied learning techniques.

I guess I can see a mix of reasons for getting educated - believe me, after being indecisive about what my future would hold, searching, struggling, etc. I can certainly understand the attraction of getting career preparation so life can maybe be a little easier. But as a person who has devoted a good part of my life to education, as a student, administrator, instructor and researcher, I also see the benefits of appreciating the beauty. Could so much focus on "job" instead of "erudition" as the outcome of education be helping to make students think cheating is acceptable? Or is it something else in our culture? I would think I was just feeling super sensitive and that this was a rare instance - if there hadn't been so much press recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

I have some other thoughts on this whole subject, which will have to keep. I think I may post a little to BlogSisters, which I have joined because I read about it at jfcates site and I think it is interesting. I am doing some exploring - but time is precious. I have material building up to write about...for the moment that will have to keep too. Too many other demands!

Needless to say, I did not finish grading all my remaining students work. It is a slow, unpleasant task, because I feel like my usual criteria are out the window. But I am taking tomorrow off - that is, "day off" means I am spending a day getting ready for the yardsale. This means loading the truck and making a round trip tomorrow (65 miles each way), because we are having it at the other house. We meant to go today, but it snowed here! It was kind of a major event for May. A big piece of the lilac bush snapped, which was so sad.