Cheaters Never Prosper

I read a disturbing opinion piece in The New York Times.  “How I Helped Teachers Cheat” by Dave Tomar (November 9, 2013)  is the author’s description of ghostwriting essays for teachers and aspiring school leaders in education programs at the undergraduate and graduate level.  While Tomar’s book has made waves (it’s called The Shadow Scholar: How I Made a Living Helping College Kids Cheat), cheating is something I see almost daily in high school and expect to happen, at least in theory, at the college level.  What I don’t expect—what deeply disturbed me—is that individuals in our “noble profession” resort to cheating.  With a tone of both judgment and understanding of his clients, Tomar describes writing lesson plans, fake observations, IEPs, even papers for educational leadership classes.  His part in the cheating cannot be excused and calls into moral question all of his opinions.  However, by participating in nearly a decade of plagiarism, he is able to make insightful moral observations about our education system.  In essence, he confirms that in the U.S., the systemsworld has colonized—has strangled—the lifeworld to such a degree that teachers and administrators have (in many cases) become immoral.
Tomar credits the high-stakes state proficiency testing for putting teachers “under intense pressure to make sure their students pass,” (Tomar 2013) and creating district-wide cheating scandals in Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; and Philadelphia (Tomar 2013).  Clearly, teachers are driven by systemsworld concerns:  Tomar states that teachers cheat because: “Their jobs, their mortgages, and the well-being of their families are on the line” (Tomar 2013).  How in the world are teachers to be viewed and treated as professionals when many of us have been “possessed” by the dark side of the systemsworld?
Sergiovanni claims, “changing teaching into a profession worth of faith and trust requires changing the views of policymakers” (Sergiovanni 2000).  Yet policymakers will see these scandals and assume that cheating is indicative of the profession as a whole, the same way suspicious teachers assume that kids will plagiarize papers and copy each others’ homework.  In order to be viewed as professionals, we must act like professionals: we must force the national educational conversation back to the values and concerns of the lifeworld, for our own good and ultimately for the good of children in the U.S.  We must be involved “in establishing shared purposes, values, and norms that provide frames and standards for [our] practice; and [create] opportunities for heightened collegiality that leads to greater interdependence among teachers and the development of communities of practice” (Sergiovanni 2000).  By fostering this teacher autonomy and professionalism at the school and local level, schools can go a long way to combat the moral lethargy that accompanies cheating.  I don’t believe teachers will become cheaters unless they’ve given up on their values a long time ago; they won’t cheat unless they believe the system is so broken that they have no power to fix it.
Interestingly, Tomar addresses the need for a revived lifeworld in U.S. educational policy.  He points to the use of standardized testing as the major culprit: “Use of standardized testing to make evaluations is fine.  But we are using them as a replacement for real education, to prod educators toward unrealistic goals, and to punish and reward:  These are the conditions that make cheating a pragmatic solution for so many” (Tomar 2013).  By defining the problem as a systemsworld colonization—tests aren’t bad, but tying tests to evaluations kills the lifeworld—Tomar has made the argument that we have lost sight of what a “real education” is.  Until we have re-established the dominance of our lifeworld—our shared vision of what real education—we have a systemsworld that tacitly rewards immoral behavior like cheating, or even nudges good people to become cheaters.
I wouldn’t have expected to take advice from a cheater.  But I agree with Tomar’s assessment: “We need to return to a focus on the enrichment and creativity that make learning as well as teaching worthwhile” (Tomar 2013). Enrichment and creativity are lifeworld values, and they are what need to drive education, even in troubled urban districts.
How do we make these values part of U.S. education?  Maybe at the school and local level, we can allow teachers to be “Origins” rather than “Pawns.” It’s actually pretty simple.  By giving teachers “a say in decisions that affect the classroom” or allowing “empowerment—a deliberate effort on the part of the district to provide the direction, support, resources, training, and other means to enable teachers to use their discretion successfully for kids” (Sergiovanni 2000), teachers are more like to become the moral agents of change that the U.S. needs.  With empowerment and support, teachers will behave like and be the professionals who bring enrichment and creativity to the classroom, shifting the focus to the lifeworld, where it belongs.






References
Sergiovanni, T.J. (2000).  The lifeworld of leadership: Creating culture, community, and
  personal meaning in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tomar, Dave (2013, November 10). How I helped teachers cheat.  The New York Times,
Sunday Review, p 9.