Transcript Ethics - Dubuque Community Schools

Ethics
It’s all about
Making Wise Choices!
Ethics means making wise
choices between:
Right actions
And
Right behavior
AND
Wrong actions
And
Wrong behavior
We should think through the
consequences of our actions
and we can:
do things the
right way.
OR WE CAN
Not work
too hard
. . . and
take the
easy way
out.
BUT
our choices
always have
consequences!
The choices we make
determine
the people we become…
And that
determines
how people
think of or
remember
us.
Are you making ethical choices?
Do you plagiarize?
Not sure?
What is Plagiarism?
To put it plainly,
It is stealing!
What’s the dictionary definition?
Merriam-Webster says:
To plagiarize is to ...
"to steal and pass off (the ideas, words, or
works of another) as one's own: use
(another's production) without crediting
the source."
"to commit literary theft: present as new
and original an idea or product derived
from an existing source."
In other words, you steal ideas
or works of an author, artist,
musician, computer
programmer or anyone. . .
use them as your own, and
then
you get their grade !
How fair is that?
Plagiarism can be
• Intentional – Deliberately choosing to
pass off someone else’s words or ideas
as your own.
OR
• *Unintentional – Being sloppy;
not being careful to give every author or
artist credit for his or her “Property”.
*Unintentional plagiarism is still
cheating!
Plagiarism seems the easy
way out because . . .
Someone else does all the work. . .
And you get all the credit . . .
But what are the consequences
of NOT doing the work?
If YOU didn’t plan your
research process, evaluate
& select the best sources,
write an outline, or correct a
rough draft,
one consequence is . . .
that you cheat yourself.
You don't learn many important
skills, such as:
evaluating sources, notetaking or
paraphrasing, writing out your
thoughts in your own words,
organizing your thoughts, and
giving credit for words, photos, art
or ideas used.
http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/Marcos_de_Niza_HS/Depts/Departments/lrc/plagiarism.ppt
Plus
Your teachers can’t see what skills
you need to learn, so . . .
they can’t give you specific feedback
to questions you have or
give you instruction geared to your
individual needs. “
http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/Marcos_de_Niza_HS/Depts/Departments/lrc/plagiarism.ppt
Since YOU didn’t do the work
of creating
something
yourself,
YOU missed out on learning how to
do each skill this time &
how to do each thing
even better next time!
If you continue cheating, you keep
missing out on the:
• research skills,
• writing skills,
• & the citation skills your
classmates have gained, so you
• keep getting further behind.
Cheating turns into a vicious
cycle
Plagiarize
Don’t know
what to do
miss out on
vital skills
New assignment
Also,
you cheat others:
1. The authors who did the work
you didn’t cite in your paper.
2. Your classmates whose papers were
written by students, not professionals.
3. Your house or school which gets a
reputation from the actions of its
students.
Of course plagiarism:
destroys the faith
others had in you
personally
because you proved yourself
untrustworthy and dishonest, BUT
If you are NOT caught there
are still consequences:
You think it’s OK to plagiarize.
You think it’s OK to keep
on getting a grade you
didn’t earn.
This destroys your character
AND starts another downhill slide.
Don’t get caught
Keep doing it
Consequences
get more severe
You have more to lose.
What has happened to
plagiarizers?
• High school student Paul Haugh was
suspended from his high school for
plagiarism.
• His high school notified colleges that
accepted Haugh about his plagiarism.
http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm#anchor444444
In another case,
a man named Dr. Alsabti had a
license to practice medicine in
Massachusetts.
When authorities from his college
learned that, as a student, before
he earned his M.D. degree, he
plagiarized 4 articles, they took away
degree.
How could they?
The Board of Registration in
Medicine said that the choice to
plagiarize demonstrated a "lack of
good moral character which is
required to practice medicine."
The Supreme Court of
Massachusetts confirmed that he
may not practice medicine in their
state.
Many schools or colleges
• Expel plagiarizers – or have their
degree taken back,
• Sue plagiarizers in civil court for
copyright infringement,
• Try plagiarizers in criminal court on
charges of fraud, or
• Have a licensing board revoke or
suspend their license to practice
their profession.
Do you think this is too harsh?
The courts uphold school’s and
licensing board’s rights to make
these decisions.
They believe that these
punishments fit the crimes
since:
• the school protects its reputation
and the integrity of its degrees,
• copyright law protects the owner of
the copyright,
• criminal law expresses the outrage of
civilized society at illegal acts,
• the licensing board protects an
innocent public who reasonably
trusts professionals to be honest,
ethical, and competent.
Stop plagiarism now !
Before
1) the habit gets ingrained
or
2) the consequences get worse.
What’s ERMS rule?
• NO CHEATING!
Consequences for 1st time cheating:
• Get an F on the paper/test
• Administration notified
• Parents notified
Why do people plagiarize?
• They don’t plan ahead & have
enough time to do all the work.
• They don’t have confidence in their
own ability to get a good grade.
• They aren’t sure where the
information came from.
• They are lazy or dishonest.
• They don’t know copyright law.
Copyright law states that
you must say who created any
works you copy:
• Someone else’s exact words.
• Someone’s chart, diagram.
drawing, or photo.
• Someone’s theory, thought or
fact that most people don’t know.
How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Plan ahead!
• Give yourself enough time to do
each step of research.
• Ask for help improving your
writing after you finish your rough
draft.
• And . . .
Copyright laws apply
to ANY work
(music, movies, pictures, diagrams)
unless you see a note from the author
saying anyone may use it.
•Use clipart from Keystone- sound
•Use AP’s historic photos
Keystone
Always:
• Write down the sources of your
ideas, photos, or statistics as you
take notes.
• Cite where quotes or ideas come
from in your paper, and
• Place the exact words in
quotation marks.
Character DOES count!
• Remember, who you become in
the future is determined by the
choices you make today.
• How others will think of you
tomorrow is a result of the
decisions you make today.
Right now!
Ask
yourself:
What choices am I
making today?
What are the consequences for
tomorrow?
Make choices you can
be proud of:
Be ethical!
Choose to do things the
right way.