Plagiarism

Technology makes it easier to plagiarize then it ever has been in history.  To copy someone else's work all one needs to do is "copy and paste".  Someone can copy 1000 words of one person and stick it in their own writing in one split second.  This almost promotes plagiarism by making it so easy.  Colleges are using websites like turn it in.com which makes a student upload documents to a website which scans the document for similar or exactly the same writings on the internet.  This makes policing for plagiarism that much easier on the teacher.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/17/tech/main2580771.shtml
https://turnitin.com/static/index.php

week 6 blog entry

Back in high school was when this subject came closest to me.  My senior year I took a test in math class and I knew my stuff. I was confident all the way through the test and finished rather quickly.  When I got to the front of the classroom and set my test on the podium my teacher quickly said "Hey Joe, can I see you in the hall for a second?".  When we got into the hallway he immediately accused me of cheating on the exam. I was extremely upset since I did nothing to even spark the accusations.  The issue went all the way to the principle where I sat down and had a meeting with him.  In the meeting we talked about the situation and he found me not at fault for cheating.  I knew that if I just stuck with my story and relied on my reputation as a good student and an honest person, that I would be fine.

Education Collapse in America

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters-readers/2011-02-09/story/us-education-falling-behind-developed-world

http://chronicle.com/article/America-Falling-Longtime-D/48683/

I think these two articles do a good job of summing up what is wrong with America's approach to education.  For many years, even before the huge economic downturn, this country has put education low on the totem pole of importance when it comes to budgeting and funding.  This means when tight economic times come about it is one of the first things to be cut back.  America needs to put education as one of its top priorities and one of the main areas their money needs to go.  If we do not we will continue to fall behind countries around us and our days amongst the elite will come to an end sooner then we think.