Honesty and Integrity: Why They Matter Here and Everywhere

This week has been a difficult one for us here at ATYP. We are grappling with a fairly significant case of plagiarism, and while it makes us sad and angry to need discussions on honesty and integrity in our work, it has become clear that it's an absolute necessity. This is not a discussion about study groups, or bouncing ideas off others in a brainstorming session, or even asking for editing or feedback on your writing because you'd like it to be better. We're talking about taking someone else's words, phrases, and ideas and passing them off as your own, without acknowledging or citing the original work. We're talking about straight up cheating.

Many parents and teachers are surprised to learn that gifted kids cheat - sometimes quite a bit. Studies and surveys both show that gifted kids do cheat, and for a variety of reasons. Sometimes students are bored, sometimes they are overwhelmed by the amount of work, sometimes they're not challenged enough, sometimes they're afraid to fail, and sometimes they procrastinate and cheat because they don't want to own up to their irresponsibility. Some of these reasons are common in the general population, and some are specific to bright or highly successful students.

We know that we expect a lot, both in the depth and amount of work required of our students. ATYP tries to provide a lot of support, including Help Sessions, available graders and tutors, access during the week to instructors, and one-on-one assistance for time management, organization, dealing with digital distractions, and prioritizing. The fact is, however, that young people need to be willing to ask for help with these problems in order to solve them. Asking for help doesn't mean you're stupid - it means you're smart enough to know when to reach out.

Some kids help friends to cheat - let them copy off an assignment or do an assignment for them - because they think they're being helpful, but nothing could be further from the truth. Helping someone to get a better grade in the short term does nothing for them in the long term. It does not teach them the importance of hard work, honesty, and integrity. It does not teach them that procrastinating until the last minute is not the best strategy. It does not teach them that sometimes you have to fail and struggle to really learn anything - and it discounts the work and effort that other students in the class do put into the assignments.

If you're curious about more of the facts, figures, and psychology behind  the phenomenon of gifted kids cheating, we recommend Cheating, Dishonesty, and Manipulation: Why Bright Kids Do It, by Kate Maupin. The editorial review of the book states, "Cheaters only cheat themselves out of the true joy of learning and accomplishment, at best achieving the cheap satisfaction of beating the system and at worst locking themselves into an unhealthy pattern of deceit." That's what we can attest to, that at it's best ATYP is about the true joy of learning, and knowing that you've earned your achievements because you have done your best. We would hate for students to deny themselves this experience. 

Staff have made it clear, in every interaction this week, that plagiarism and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated here, and can be grounds for dismissal from the program. We are not trying to be harsh, we are being explicit - if you are overwhelmed, we can help you. If you cheat, that's another story. We invite families to read this post together, and to have meaningful discussions regarding the importance of integrity and honesty in their work, in their relationships, and in all other aspects of life. A lot of what needs to be learned growing up is not found in a textbook, so we hope that this is a moment when we can, all of us, learn something of value.