Why kids cheat..

Well, let me just tell you my story then maybe I can answer the question. It was the first marking period of my senior year. I was in Mr. Murphy's advanced English class. His curriculum included an outside reading every marking period. And to be honest I thought our options where quite standard and boring. So I thought I could beat the system again with my 50 dollar subscription to Bookrags.com, A cliff note site. Except this time instead of reading every chapter summary and writing a report in my own words like I did throughout most of high school. I got a little lazy in the midst of writing this report on The Stranger. Which supposedly was a good book, but nevertheless I stole 2 paragraphs from another similar essay. I used a thesaurus to replace some words. But, instead of fully rewording the paragraphs I just left them as is. I thought it flowed similarly to mine. So I left it. Well, about a week later I was shocked that my teacher figured it out and printed out the essay off of google. I really thought since I paid for my sh*t I would have been safe. It was literally two paragraphs, the rest I did write. It didn't matter, Mr. Murphy failed me for the first marking period. It kept me off the high honor roll! So I went home and told my dad. He was so pissed. It was a nightmare, I got my car taken away for 2 weeks! My dad called my teacher and he agreed not to make a federal issue out of it and report me to the school, but he did fail me. So after the incident I never renewed my subscription to Bookrags.com, I have never even revisited the site since then. I learned my lesson the hard way. I was so lucky not to have been reported to the school. Thank God it was my first offence. It really sucks too because during high school my ex boyfriend, plagiarized every essay he had ever handed in. He was in basic English and I guess those teachers are just happy to have something to read. But, he never got caught, and his essays were practically word for word. I suppose he instigated me as well. However, he was a very very very stupid kid. I had multiple teachers tell me that he held me back. I eventually got over the V-card thing and realized that they were right. However, I guess he was just lucky or had tons of sympathy for his stupidity. However, I don't believe kids cheat because they dislike their teacher, or feel that their teacher is a push over. I know my reason for doing it was arrogance and laziness. I felt as if my eloquence in my speech and writing was enough of a cover to make me above the law. Where as in my ex's case he simply was extremely dumb and lazy. I do believe if he got caught like I did, it would not have phased him like it did me. I had much more to lose than he did. I was a bright kid, I couldn't afford to have my name tarnished. He was pretty much retarded, seriously, people thought he was, I have no idea what I saw in him. He had nothing to lose. He was in retarded classes that probably didn't care because he probably wouldn't go to college. So I guess for those who aren't high achievers do it because they just don't care. A D to them is just as good as an A, as long as they pass that seems to be okay with them. So if they get caught, oh well, better luck next time. I believe someone like me experiencing an F in English for the first time ever, would be enough to change them for the rest of their lives. I known that I will never ever do it again. It is not worth it, AT ALL. Bottom line is eventually everyone gets caught, and you probably wont just get an F. Not only will you fail, but everyone will know that Jane Doe plagiarized, and in college, you will get kicked out of school. And good luck getting into another school. You might as well stick you head in between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye. And if you simply forgot to do the assignment, just hand it in late or don't do it at all. Better an F for forgetfulness than for plagiarism. In conclusion, kids cheat because their lazy and arrogant. Youth can sometimes make you feel above the law, especially if you are underage. I only hope for someone like me, if they decide to cheat and get caught that their teacher is as kind to them as my teacher was to me. I don't think kids understand the severity of plagiarism until they are caught. I know I didn't. I never thought that the consequences were that sever. But, they are. I think teachers should spend a few moments in the beginning of the semester to just emphasize how real this is. Warn them of the consequences and make clear that it is not tolerated and that they will be caught. It happened to me, and I think I was pretty smart about it. I think I put more thought and money into it than most probably do. So if I got caught, you most likely will too. DON'T DO IT!