June marks the beginning of the school year. And if there's anything I thought I could've contributed to the academe, it would've been completing this guide.

Why am I writing this? Because of the tens of millions of students in the Philippines, only a few thousand don't cheat.

First things first. CHEATING IS BAD! BAD! BAD! - VERY, VERY, VERY BAD!!! ... if you get caught. Not so bad if you don't get caught. Think of the positive, parallel to nothing else, the singular, greatest factor in considering cheating or somehow justifying cheating is NOT HAVING TO REPEAT THE SUBJECT.

The way I see it, there's no way I could've gone through over a decade of formal education without doing anything stupid. There are very few who are able to.

Thinking back to my fond school-day memories, somehow, someway, I did cheat. And sadly, I was caught - but only once! It was in 2004, One of my math professors in college caught me verifying a formula. It wasn't even "GRAND" cheating (think grand theft vspetty theft vs mistakenly taking something because you thought it was yours - let's say cheating in class is like the latter). I was just checking if the formula I had in mind was right - to this day I maintain that it is not the same as asking for the answer. That said, there were more times than I can count that I DID get away with asking for the answer.

Thinking back to the happy days when I used to receive an allowance and didn't have to pay tax led me to thinking of creating THE "student's guide for cheating" and then later to "the teacher's guide to catching cheating students". The latter because I do have relatives in the academe and I had to find a way to justify the mere thought of writing such evil. It's scary to think of what a couple of past deans at the state university and a number of distinguished professors could do to you.

UPDATE: After days of consulting with everyone I knew with the right knowledge and experience in the matter, I came to the conclusion that a definitive guide can never be written. WHY? Two big reasons, basically:

I know too many people with experience

they have too much experience

If you add that to what I already know (trust me, I know a lot), there's just too much information even before considering the "little things". Like, for example, are the students using armchair or desks? Are the armchairs made of wood or plastic? These factors affect how a student cheats and how teachers can catch them cheating.

But I'm not going to quit this project. A voice from somewhere told me that it had to be completed and that I was born to do this.

I'll mention a few of the most common cheating methods... And, ok, fine... The way to prevent students from employing those methods.

The ID kodigo method

Students: The Concept is very simple, on a piece of paper that matches the color of your ID card, write everything you think you'll need for the exam. This includes formulas, words to remember and any important facts that you can cram into a few square inches of space.

Teachers: It's all to simple to spot. Any good teacher should require students to pass their ID cards forward for return after the exam.

The hand trick

Students: Same concept as above, but this time, write on your hands. It's fairly simple to get away with it. Just act like your covering your answer (see first image above).

Teachers: You will need to check on how often a student focuses his eyes on his hands. Also, usually, the cupped hand is angled in such a way as to allow for proper reading over covering answers.

The "maam, may I go out?"

Students: Ask to go to the toilet. Check your cheat-sheet when you get there.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is very effective for students who are lactose intolerant. Drink a glass (or two, just to be sure) of milk around 15 minutes before the exam. This will make your "may I go out" more believable. You will start farting 15 minutes into the exam providing enough time to go over the exam and what you need to review in the toilet plus ample time to complete the exam when you get back. For added safety, flush your cheat-sheet.

Teachers: There's really no legal way to see what's happening inside a restroom cubicle. You could require your students to use the restroom before the exam but I loud and smelly farting might just cause you to lower your guard.

I could go on and on but, like I said earlier, this may just never end. I promise to update this article on the Pambansang blog http://www.pambansangblog.com/ every now and then with a few tips here and there. Maybe I'll come up with a mini-guide on "cheating with technology" with some tips on how to cheat in the IT lab and a list of good calculators. You know, those calculators that store formulas, among other things.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Tue, 05 Jul 2011, 07:03 AM]