Advice from a departing senior

High school can be a challenging time for many students, with academic pressure, a social life to maintain, and personal responsibilities to manage all at once. In the quest for success, some individuals may be tempted to explore more unconventional or ethically questionable methods to secure a passing grade. While academic integrity should always be upheld, it’s essential to acknowledge the existence of different methods and the ethical dilemmas they pose.

In my four years of high school, I have found that quite a few class assignments and homework can be solved quickly by simply searching the question and adding “Quizlet” to the end. Once you find the Quizlet containing your answer, chances are the remainder of the questions on your homework and/or classwork may be there as well. And while this is a very easy way to get a grade on your homework/classwork, this isn’t a good idea if you really want to learn something from the work assigned. I find Quizlet most helpful when studying for tests and quizzes.

Another tip that’s a bit more questionable is using a service such as ChatGPT. Now, it’s never a smart idea to use ChatGPT to do full written assignments since it’s blatant cheating and most teachers know how to spot it by now, but using ChatGPT to correct grammar or reword things is much more of a gray area. On one hand, pasting your essay into ChatGPT and telling it to: “fix grammatical errors” or “reword this to be more fluent” is technically cheating due to the fact that it’s not you making these edits, but on the other hand, it’s not too indifferent to what normal spell check or Grammarly does. So in this regard, it’s really up to your teacher to decide if doing this is cheating, so I may ask before making this decision.

The last tip is simple: just pay attention and participate in class. Put your phone down, pick your head up, and just listen, maybe even take some notes because everything you’re quizzed on, tested on, or given assignments about can be found in the lesson your teacher is giving you. Participating in class discussions can also help you build on what you are learning in a less boring way.

Overall, I don’t condone cheating and I’d never advise you to take detrimental shortcuts. If you choose to use any of these tips, it’s entirely up to you and your moral convictions, just don’t cry if you use these “tips” and your teachers don’t appreciate them.