“Have you ever cheated on a test before?”
As Nicole continued to share her journey of helping her son prepare for a math final, I couldn’t help but think of my own experiences when I had to prepare for similar exams, especially those that I cheated on ... back when the dinosaurs were alive.
Just kidding, it wasn’t that long ago 🤦♂️
The memory that immediately came to my mind was of middle school.
In particular, a time when I along with a group of classmates cheated on a math exam towards the end of the year.
I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my first time nor my last.
In fact, the more that I think about it today, we got pretty good at it.
There was one technique that worked especially well.
“Students, please clear off your desks and place everything on the floor,” the teacher would announce before passing out the exam.
I’d put the thick, blue binder in front of my feet, with the practice exam on top of it.
Then, I’d push the chair away from my desk, so there was a slight distance for my eyes to look down and see the practice exam.
You might be wondering, “Isn’t it a different test?”
You’d think so, but not always.
Oftentimes the only difference between the practice test and final exam were the actual numbers in the problems.
The equations or principles used behind solving the problems were the same.
The danger of this act was getting caught and facing the consequences.
I always wondered what the consequences would be if you got caught.
Do you get expelled or simply told not to do it again?
I didn’t want to find out.
So, I got creative with how I to do it.
If I had to turn the page on the practice exam, I’d use my right foot to flip the page over.
If I had to go back a page, I’d squeeze that page between both feet and bring it back.
I then would look up at the clock, as if I was concerned about how much time I had to finish the exam.
Talk about a time when my anxiety levels were through the roof ... this was definitely one of those times, even when I got "good" at the process.
Today, I ask myself, “Why did I cheat? What did I learn from cheating?”
I learned that I cheated when I felt ill-prepared.
The thought of failing was devastating.
One exam, at the time, could change the trajectory of the entire path moving forward. At least that’s how it felt in my mind.
Maybe if failure was embraced instead of looked down upon, it would have been a different experience.
There might not have been a need to cheat.
What if instead of receiving an “F” on an exam, I was asked, “What could you do differently next time? What did you learn from this experience?”
I now would like to ask you, “Have you ever cheated on a test? What has cheating taught you?”
