Renaissance Lit Discussion Question #4
April 25, 2009 by mswilson
I am reluctant to post another question about The Prince as I recently discovered that one student plagarized all three of their responses with help from Spark Notes. (Don’t ask me who it is, I’m not going to tell you.)
So here is your question: What do you think I should do about this and what would Machiavelli tell me?
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Thats a shame…
Seeing as how it IS illegal to plagiarize, I would either:
A. Fail the individual, and if this person is a senior, they will not be able to graduate with their class. if this person is a junior, they will need to take two english classes next year to pass.
B. In keeping with the times of the literature we read in our class, I would put them on display in the middle of the student centre (center) with a sign (possibly hanging from their neck) saying “I am a loser, I plagiarized…”
Now, this student could be given both options:
A. Fail the class, having to either repeat the grade or take two english classes next year.
Or
B. Sign a contract, showing that the student allowed the alternative option of being put on display in the student center like that animal they are, as punishment for their actions.
Machiavelli would probably tell you to have the student either tortured to the brink of insanity, or put to death either by means of the guillotine, normal beheading (with an axe or sword), or hanging.
I honestly believe that as Ellen stated, it is a shame that someone would have the gall to plagarize; it’s not only lazy, but it is offensive to the teacher, who is not so stupid as to fall for the charade, and it is offensive to all of the student’s peers, who actually have put in a good deal of time and effort to producing quality work for the sake of intellectual discussion, but to get back on topic; I believe that as Ellen previously stated, there are a number of things that should (or can) be done: (a) fail the student as punishment for his or her actions, (b) expose the cheater, and from there, (c) let the student’s peers decide what punishment will fit. Although Ellen’s views on what Machiavelli would have said would have most likely been practical for the time, I believe that Machiavelli would have gone with something along the lines of my “option c”, as it builds a connection between the prince and his subjects, as he is basically saying, “here, I have caught and exposed the one who has wronged you, I will let you decide what to do with him, as long as it is within reason”. As stated before, doing this will make the subjects feel as though their prince not only trusts them, but to an extent, also respects them, as by allowing them to deal with something that he normally would, he is saying “I believe that you are all mature and intelligent enough to decide what to do with this man.”
Although hanging/guillotine and torture are probably out of the question, I have to agree with Ellen and say Machiavelli would most likely lean towards one of those options given the time period in which he lived.
However, keeping up with the times it’s tough to say how Machiavelli would modernize his punishment. Certainly there would be a great deal less about the punishment itself and more emphasis about the leader (in this case, Ms. Wilson) would show sovereignty over the plagiarizer (plagiarist?) by punishing them adequately. In other words, its not so much about the punishment itself, but the fact that they did something wrong and the ruler (teacher) is going to make them very sorry for doing it.
The punishment has to be something strict enough to make the offender never ever even deign to think about ever coping another person’s work EVER, but still within the bounds of reason… and legality.
I feel as though we must not overlook that although Ms. Wilson does represent The Prince (or Princess) within the class we must remember that in terms of the school as a whole there is the king (i.e. Mr. Capasso) and his well established book of law (i.e. the “Cardinal Rules”). As we have learned from ‘Tartuffe,’ another work which we have studied, the king always has all the answers (how convenient). Technically, the Cardinal Rules (which are conveniently located in each and every planner–not that anyone ever reads them) state that any teacher who catches a student cheating is to give no credit for the assignment and their house master is to be notified. If you ask me, that sounds like a big bureaucratic nightmare and in the situation, I’d probably just fail the kid altogether. However, Machiavelli would follow the law as written by his supreme leader because, as we all know, he does love his government so very very much.
P.S. Even though Ellen’s student center idea would probably never be approved (by the PTA most likely with all their political correctness and such) I personally think it’s brilliant.
I agree with Ellen. I believe that plagiarizing is not right for a student to do, it is actually illegal. it just makes them lazy in the future and shows that they are not trustworthy for being responsible for their own work. He/or she needs to realize that you cannot plagiarize in school or outside or LIFE, and either way it will end up having harsh consequences. If i were the teacher i would make the student serve detention, and make them write a long essay on why plagiarism is bad and how it could possibly be handled in the renaissance era. i would most likely believe that Machiavelli would handle the situation with a violent punishment. not only the prince but the citizens will pity on the subject as well.
It is a shame that someone was trying to get the easy way out. I do agree with Ellen on having the student being punished the way he or she would have been punished at the time of Machiavelli, it still seems like a pretty good idea to have today, however, as Kris mention it would never be approved by the PTA or even the school.
However, the student should be punished giving the student an automatic ‘F’, and should if a senior have to be in summer school to graduate or can return next year for half a year to graduate mid-year, it would be sad to see that the student has to return next year because of something dumb like cheating. If a junior is the student that has been caught then I say tell that student has loss the trust of the teacher, not only of that one but of many teachers, and other teachers that he or she has may accusse him or her of cheating on other work. That he or she didn’t cheat on.
Again to what Machiavelli would say is to expose that person for who he or she really is. Also if the class was like a country throw him or her to jail but since it is not a county I just say give that person detention for the rest of the year, and also write that person up to the headmaster, tell his or hers parents, and have it in his or her permant record if Machiavelli was living in our time, if it was his time just expose who that person really is and exile them. If he was in a REALLY REALLY good mood, but for the matter he would just be ‘you know what your going to die’ which was common for cheaters and false people. It is like the old saying “winners never cheat and cheaters never win.”
Ah, well, unfortunately, many people plagiarize on schoolwork, especially when it comes to maths or literature… both of which have a sort of easy way out. They’re sort of punishing themselves though… they should’ve realized that you would notice… all the teachers read SparkNotes. Also, they wont get out of it what they would’ve if they had read the book.
Ms. Fusco says that the school policy for plagiarism is a referral to one’s housemaster, a zero on the assignment, and a call home. That should be sufficient, I think. Are you allowed to give someone an “F” for the quarter simply becaused they plagiarized on an assignment.
I don’t see how they would be able to plagiarize from SparkNotes on your questions, since they don’t deal with specific chapters. Did they copy verbatim from SparkNotes, or did they inappropriately paraphrase?
Verbatim copying is not necessarily illegal, although it is immoral. If SparkNotes employs what is called the GNU Free Documentation License, as Wikipedia does, then it is perfectly legal to copy verbatim or to modify any part of the website’s product, as the website owners would have signed the license, which permits anyone to do so. However, if they do have copyright restrictions, than the person would indeed be breaking the law.
Oh gosh… Machiavelli would probably hung them from their toes and whipped them mercilessly, or something. It’s better to be feared than to be loved!
Personally, I think that the best way to deal with this situation is to hand it over to the housemaster. This policy is in accordance with the cardinal rules. The parents would almost certainly be made aware of the situation and the housemaster would probably provide a proper punishment for the student. In addition, the teacher can wash her hands of the situation and avoid being blamed for giving a punishment that it too harsh or too lenient. Machiavelli would most certainly agree with my reasoning. In Chapter 19, he describes how rulers “should let the carrying out of unpopular duties devolve on others, and bestow favors themselves” (98). To back up his opinion, he describes how the King of France used a judge to favor the majority of the population while he favored the nobles. The King understood that he could not grant the nobles too much power, for fear that they would diminish his own power. However, the King also knew that he could not favor the people over the nobles without earning the enmity of the nobility. Therefore, he appointed a judge whose decisions tended to favor the upper-class majority as opposed to the lower-class minority. By doing this, the King was able to have unpopular, but necessary, decisions made without being blamed for these decisions. This is exactly what should be done in this situation. By handing the responsibility over to a higher power, the teacher will ensure the situation is dealt with, but won’t gain a bad reputation for it.
I believe that Machiavelli would handle this problem by punishing that person violently like what Ellen said. He would probably torture that person and kill him as a result.
I believe that plagiarizing is not a right idea to answer the responses. However, I do not think that it is a right idea to punish that person in a harsh way. I think it is important to think about the student’s side too because that person may have needed some help or support to understand The Prince. I believe that it is important to have a talk with that person face-to-face and ask them if they are having difficulties with reading it. Whatever the reason is, there needs to be some kind of way to let that person understand that plagiarizing is not allowed and that if he/she continues it, they would get lazier in doing work from now on. It is important for that person to start putting some effort or else they would have a hard time in the future like in college. If that person plagiarizes again after the talk, I believe that if would then be necessary to give them some kind of punishment like giving them a detention.
Personally, contrary to what most students responded, I believe failing the student or not letting a senior graduate is too tough a punishment. Being a senior myself, the endless consequences of failing or not letting one of us graduate is much worse than the actual crime. Something should be done about it, such as talking to the student, telling the house master, and requiring some sort of punishment like writing an essay or contacting his/her parents. Machiavelli would probably punish his victim harshly, because he believes a ruler should rule strictly. However, we no longer live in his time and therefore the punishment must be suited to our time period. Personally, not letting a senior graduate is quite severe a punishment, and too harsh for this crime.
Similar to what Jack and Ellen have said, it’s a shame that someone would plagiarize. These blog entries are not difficult or time consuming at all, and considering the fact that we have a week to do them, copying someone else’s ideas as a shortcut is unacceptable. There are a various different punishments you can put upon the cheater. Perhaps setting up a meeting with the guidance counselor, the kid’s parents and the housemaster would be a good start. Then, I would suggest that the kid gets a failing grade for the quarter or has to drop your class. Someone who plagiarizes several times obviously has the audacity to not care about the negative impact of his or her laziness. Ultimately as “the prince” figure of the class, you have every right as the leader to take whatever actions necessary to show your power, at least according to Machiavelli. Machiavelli would advise that you take whatever necessary to exert your power, within reason. Perhaps giving the people some say in a good punishment would be a good idea, but ultimately Machiavelli would think that the final decision is up to you. He would probably suggest some sort of public humiliation (considering the times) or imprisonment. If someone is sneaky enough to defy the wishes of their leader, then they are an enemy to that state. Machiavelli would agree that as the leader, you shouldn’t have to put up with them undermining your authority. Back then it would’ve been humiliation, death and/or imprisonment. However, considering today’s day and age, perhaps embarrassment and exile would be an effective (and legal) punishment.
Well, to start off, the teacher should give the person a chance to explain themselves because sometimes plagiarizing isn’t always meant for the easy way out (at least that’s what I believe). You have to be considerate of the person and their circumstances (for ex. not understanding the question or not having a teacher to help you understand it because the assignment is due by the end of that night). I think the teacher should always give the student a second chance to prove them different. Everyone makes mistakes and I know that everyone in their lifetime as plagiarized something. We are all humans and no one perfect. But, after a second chance a teacher should give some sort of punishment. A punishment should be making the student write a sorry note to the class and an essay to the teacher explaining why plagiarizing isn’t good.
On the other hand, Machiavelli would have different ideas I agree with Ellen, on the fact that Machiavelli would probably torture a person for cheating. He definitely wouldn’t take it so kindly. I also believe that Machiavelli would do everything in his power to embarrass the cheater. This would really show the person to never to cheat (or plagiarize).
Hm. You’re not asking for my opinion on plagiarism, you’re asking me what to do. I think you should give them zeros for all three responses, but allow them to make up one of them as well as continue and do this one. If they, for some reason, plagiarize this one as well, give them four zeros and forget about it. People make mistakes.
Machiavelli, I think, would be far sneakier about the whole thing. He would give them full credit for all of the responses, maybe with a little extra, then go to them and make the point that he let them off the hook. He’d have information that would not be very good to the right ears. He’d make little slips in grades occasionally, just to make sure that they knew who was in control. If you keep them on the edge, then they’ll be more likely to do what you want. You can have your own pet student.
Ultimately I think that the student should receive the penalty written in the rule book which no man/women is above law.(rules) The school policy states that the first offense, the student looses the credit on the assignment and the parent is notified along with the housemaster. Second is the first offence plus referral to housemaster for suspension. And the Third offense includes the second plus referral to social worker. So! Does this student receive the triple penalty all at once? Or because it is the first time “caught” is the penalty only taken as the first offence. That I guess is up to the teacher. I personally do think that this is a big problem but kind of do understand that the year is almost over and if it were a senior, the “itis” is reaching its peak since the count down is now less than 10.
Machiavelli? I think that he would most likely kill. Knowing that he is someone that does not accept mistakes especially immoral ones, its for sure that it’ll be painful. As a result, in the shoes of that student, might as well just jump off a bridge.
Unlike my punishment, Machiavellis’ punishment, I would not punish the person as severally as some people have stated. Machiavelli would have either killed them or done something so excruciatingly painful that the person would rather have just killed themselves. The main point is that the student did not do the work that you assigned. If there is a punishment it should be a detention or making the student help you with something that you need help on. For example, hanging something on the wall or stapling papers, then give them a zero for the blog. This would give the student the knowledge that you are angry and are willing to make them do something for you, not just effect their grade. This punishment would make the student have to see you and feel even worse than they would have thought they could feel. Many of the recommendations seem too harsh and cruel.
When it comes down to it, the student broke a school rule. A school rule that is illegal, and generally frowned upon in most societies. If I were a teacher dealing with a student who plagiarized, I would first confront the student privately and allow one explanation. It doesn’t really matter if the student was just lazy and didn’t feel like doing it, or if they just didn’t completely understand and wanted to use spark notes to avoid not doing the assignment. Granted, the not understanding excuse is better than being lazy, but plagiarism is still against the law. In the end, I’d undoubtedly notify the student’s parents. Since it wasn’t just one time, I’d assume they just thought I’m not as intelligent as I actually am, and because of that I’d want them to get as harsh a punishment as they can receive– most likely suspension. They need to learn the lesson, if they plagiarize in college they’re going to get kicked out.
Now, Machiavelli would definitely just kill the person and be done with it. Plagiarism is defiance, defiance is death. It’s as simple as that. I’m sure some torture would be involved, naturally. Machiavelli was all about the end justifying the means; if the plagiarizer is dead, that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what he has to do to get there.
Machiavelli would probably go with some sort of medieval torture, but im not sure the board of education would go for that. i think that before any actions are made there should be solid proof that the student actually plagiarized the exact words off of spark notes. once this is proven the student should be given a detention and be made to re-do the questions. i also think that the punishment has already started with all of those humiliating posts by other peers. I agree that we all make mistakes and for a first time offender, it is not fair to ruin their life, even though machiavelli would disagree
Well, I agree with everyone saying that it is too bad someone would stoop that low. Sarah is right in saying that these questions aren’t that hard and that plagiarizing on this assignment is really stupid. It wouldn’t be that difficult to answer these questions, plus they are opinion based, so plagiarizing also means that that person is no answering these questions with their own opinion, but someone else. Personally, I think that Ellen’s first option is way too harsh on this, though this offense isn’t OK or anything, that person still shouldn’t have to deal with extra classes or staying behind in school. I think that doing this for a blog was a good start to a punishment. Now this person, if he/she reads these, will probably feel awful because of what everyone has said. So, even though he/she is the only one, other than Ms. Wilson, who knows who did this, that person will still probably feel very very low. But, that isn’t all, because this person does need to be reasonably punished. Failing this student on these assignments would be a good way to start and probably following the school’s rules on plagiarizing is a good idea. That has just enough punishment that it will take effect without going too far.
Machiavelli would probably have been very radical on this topic and would have probably sent this person to be tortured or killed. Most likely through the guillotine. If this person had been sent to the guillotine, not only would he be sentenced to death and, well, die, but he would also have to suffer, in a way, Ellen’s second idea. Right before a person was killed by the guillotine, that person suffered from a massive amount of embarrassment. He/she would be tortured a bit before leaving his/her cell, then that person would take a very awful, painful, hay ride through the town where everyone would be watching and then, almost as if he/she was the entertainment of the night, the entire town would watch this person die. That would be quite a bit of embarrassment and Machiavelli would have thought that justice was served.
It is unfortunate that a student would do such a thing and as punishment I believe that he/she should be given zeros for all 3 posts. If the posts were copied directly out of sparknotes then I feel that the student’s housemaster be involved with the punishment process as well as a call home with possible suspension. By plagarizing 3 times in a row, it is evident that such student did not read The Prince and thus have not been giving full effort in the class itself. Machiavelli would punish the student severely, not put them to death, but without a doubt torture them to ensure they will never commit such a crime again. Of course this would only happen in Machivelli’s time period, if it were to be today he would not tolerate the act and mostlikely remove them from the class for good.
In this matter of plagiarism it is definitely important to remain within the bounds of reason in order to carry through a sufficient punishment. The student that is guilty in this situation should be held accountable for their actions and be punished. However they should not be punished to the full extent of the “Cardinal Rules” and school authority, because it would just create a terrible situation out of a bad situation. The student does not need to be ruined for the rest of their academic career and be smeared with this black mark. Instead they should feel the pain in the short term and acknowledge that what they did was wrong. Going along these lines of punishment, the student should stand up in the class and apologize for their actions, therefore submitting them to a level of humiliation among their peers. Then the student should fail all three of the plagiarized responses to really make the punishment stick. Finally the student should write a formal letter to Ms. Wilson apologizing for their actions and begging for forgiveness. This would guarantee a perfect conditioning of the student to never plagiarize again and would overstep the bounds of reasonable punishment by ruining them in the long term.
Machiavelli would definitely try to push the punishment to the highest extent if that is the will of the general populous, as he continuously stresses the importance of keeping the people content. This kind of appeasement to the people creates the situation of trying to decide what the people want. In the case of the classroom, the people are the students and it appears that the majority have decided for the strictest punishment. Yet if they were to know who the classmate was then they would not want to implement such a harsh punishment. Most of the students in the classroom are at the least mutually friends and would not enjoy to witness the public flogging of their classmate. Therefore in keeping with the spirit of The Prince it is important to find out with the students would like to do and follow accordingly. The safest route to take would implement the punishments outlined above to act conservatively and then if that does not appease the will of the class, then come down like a hammer of justice as hard as possible.
I disagree with Ellen when she says that the senior should not be allowed to graduate or that the junior would need to take two english classes. I think that is very extreme and that going to that extreme would be unecesseary. I think that it was bad that the person copied directly from Sparknotes and that they should have been a little smarter about maybe changing up the words or just taking ideas from Sparknotes. I think that maybe you should conference with this person and have them not recieve any credit for any of the responses, but ironically I actually think that Machiavelli would not be mad about this student because The Prince is all about what to do to stay on top. Apparently this person who plagarized was just trying to keep up with their work but unfortunately did not do it in the most intellectual way.
I agree with Kristyn in thinking that the rules should be carried out; however I do think that there are always details to a situation like this that cannot be overlooked. I agree with Yuki in thinking that you should take some of the student’s perspective on why they did it. I certainly do not think plagiarizing is justified by any reason at all but there are certain things that should be considered. Maybe (like Yuki said) the student did not understand The Prince and did not want to embarrass themselves by saying something. Also, I think that if the student only used Spark Notes as a springboard, meaning that they got some core ideas and then elaborated with ideas of their own, then it is slightly more understandable in my eyes. So, if the person did this, then I think that they should get the LEAST amount of credit possible and be punished within class for it. However, if these are blatant copy-and-paste style responses then the student should be punished by the rules stated in the handbook regarding plagiarism. And if the student is a junior and moving on to AP English, the recommendation should be taken back. If they are a senior, honestly just give them a zero on the assignment, they have gone to this school for four years and are on their way to college, you should be the slightest bit lenient if that is that case. Plagiarism really is a stupid and deplorable thing to do. It just makes the person look lazy and unmotivated. And, like many before have said, they don’t reap the educational benefits of the book. Machiavelli would probably punish this person REALLY harshly. He would probably make it well known in the area and make sure the people knew that the student had plagiarized. He would also make an example out of them, to show the other people that this is what would happen if they were to plagiarize. In relation to the government, he would believe that you must make an example of the person to keep the rest of the masses in order. He would especially be livid (as I’m sure you are) because he is a man of literature and he sees the under appreciation of his work. However, I think it would be best to do what I said before. Find out what the situation was and then go from there. Word-for-word plagiarism isn’t ok, but using Spark Notes as a springboard or for base ideas could possibly squeak by as acceptable. The person should definitely be punished no matter what, but to what degree, now that depends. There’s always another side to the story, and the people who think the student should be punished harshly should know that because I’m sure 98% of them have used or will use Spark Notes at some point in their lives. It is a shame though, because I actually found The Prince to be somewhat of an enjoyable read.
Similar to what many have said, plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. It only causes the plagiarizer to be seen as an uninterested slacker. Personally, I would say that the person should be dealt with to the full extent of the Cardinal Rules, meaning an F on the assignment, an appointment with the Housemaster and a call home. However, holding them back if they are a senior would definitely be too harsh. That has a lot more consequences to it than simply getting an F on one assignment, consequences that are too much for a crime such as this.
I believe Machiavelli would make an example out of this person. He would punish them to the full extent of the law to show people what would happen if they ever dared to do the same thing. However, while he would punish them fully, he would not go overboard with it. The punishment would match the crime; unlike Ellen and others, I do not believe that he would torture or kill the plagiarizer, simply punish him as much as the law allowed.
While I feel that plagiarizing is a horrible thing to do and that the person should be punished, I do not agree with the very cruel punishments of failing the quarter, or having to take two English classes over again. I do however agree with what Tom said about handing over the case to the student’s house master and letting he/she deal with it. Another reason why I don’t think that such extreme punishment should be given is because the student has not had a chance to give his or her own explanation yet. Also Tom’s point about the copyright laws does make sense that is why I also think that Morgan’s idea of including the parents and the housemaster makes sense you (Ms. Wilson) could also be involved it you or the Housemaster, or even the parents want. I believe that Machiavelli would tell you to do whatever course of action you felt was best because you are the leader, and like Sarah S. said Machiavelli would back you up one hundred percent, and even though it might be a good idea to include the “people” in your decision it is ultimately up to you and what you think is the best/ most appropriate course of action to take.
In my opinion, as Michael said you should let the student explain to you their side of the story. Once you have talked to the student, and heard his/her side you would have to give him/her some sort of punishment with consequences. In this case, this Blog assignment that we have once a week isn’t the most significant assignment we work on. Although all 3 questions is a lot of work to plagiarize. If the student is someone who you view as a hard worker and not someone who would be likely to do this I think you should just give him zeros for all his/her Blog posts and just keep it between you two. I believe this simply because it’s not a significant grade that would coincide with something like an essay. If you don’t see any other plagiarizing in his other work I don’t see any reason to ruin a kids future with unknown consequences by taking it to the administration. But if you do discover that this isn’t the first time he/she has done this, and you see it in their other works, I think as a teacher you have a responsibility to bring this kid’s problem to his/her Housemaster.
Like everyone has already stated Machiavelli would not take this situation lightly. He would most likely torture the cheater and possibly have him/her killed to set an example to the rest of the “citizens”. At the same time it would be hypocritical of him because he believes in doing whatever it takes to get to the top because in reality our world is corrupt and people do what they have to, to come out on top.
I really like Ellen’s ideas… I’m not really sure what Machiavelli would do. He would probably use the student as an example and publicly humiliate him/her to show everyone else what happens when they mess with his authority. What ever you do, it should be oppressive and over the top!
What should you do to punish this kid who plagarized…hmmmmmmmm…If I were you i would do either of the following.
-If it is a senior, senior internship is in like a week so its not worth making it a big deal because it will just give you unneeded stress.
-If it is a junior then i would tell the kids housemaster and ask to not be further involved. You have to make sure you make up some excuse as to why you don’t want to be involved any further though..that is key, because then you don’t have to deal with it.
Machiavelli, on the other hand, would be more pro-active and would tell you to take the law into your own hands. He’d probably go straight for torture, but since your not cool with that he’d tell you to completely humiliate the kid and just give him an F
It is ashamed that this happened, but as Tom said, it does happen. I also like what Max said, you are not asking our opinions on plagiarizing, you are asking for advice on what you should do, so there is no need for me to write a paragraph about “how terrible plagiarism is and how appalled I am to be in the same class with this criminal.” We all know it’s wrong, no need to say it 50 different ways.
As for Machiavelli, we know what he would do. In his book he talks about how a ruler should be feared rather than loved. Now it is up to you Ms. Wilson, would you rather be loved or feared. If you would like to follow the Machiavellian way you could do the same as Cesare Borgia (according to Machiavelli) and cut the person in half and leave them in the center of the square (or student center I guess). This would definitely make an example of them for the rest of us when we walk into school the next morning. I know if I saw my classmate cut up on the floor I would put every homework assignment I have through turnitin.com. This is not the only way to be feared, however… you could also garrote them… or remove their limbs in front of the class. There are many things you could do that I’m sure would make Machiavelli proud of you.
Now if you are the polar opposite of Machiavelli you could take the path of being loved and send them off with a warning and a piece of cake.
Or, you could take the middle road and do what is says in the handbook and give them zeros, but also allow them the chance to make it up. I think this is the worst assignment to plagiarize, but people do things that they shouldn’t all the time and cutting them in half doesn’t give them the opportunity to learn. I think if they give a good response to this using information from Machiavelli’s text you maybe should go easier on them. Clearly they learned from their mistake and did the work… or you could kill them. It’s your choice.
(Third time I’ve submitted this, not sure if it’ll work or why it isn’t working)
I agree with Heather and Dan for the most part but disagree strongly with Ellen. The fact is that this is a very simple assignment that does not require a lot of work in the first place. Had it been a substantial essay of sorts, then I think an appropriately more severe response would be in order. But, overall, this is a very nonchalant assignment that, as I said, doesn’t require much work. Therefore, I do not believe you should punish the student to any severe extent, but one must keep in mind that morality was broken here. I think the best idea is to refer this student to their housemaster and guidance councilor; they will have a good idea about what to do. A call home to the parent of the student should also be in one’s mind, as the parent has a right to know that their child is engaging in immoral acts. Overall, I definitely think you should be rather lenient, only because this assignment is so lax. It really isn’t a substantial assignment and I doubt anyone would knowingly plagiarize for anything of higher caliber.
Machiavelli would be quite displeased with the student and ultimately have less “patience”. I believe he would most probably approach the situation with more severity and punish the individual more severely. But, as we all know, Machiavelli is a brash realist who acts and speaks bluntly.
I believe that Machiavelli would have punished this person to the fullest extent possible. Plagiarism was may have been a problem back then, but it was not easy to prove. No that is in these days, if Machiavelli were to find out that someone did plagiarize, they would be in big trouble. Machiavelli believes in major punishment with no excuses. The person who plagiarized would be hurt at the least, if not dead.
I personally would not be as strict. It is hard to say exactly what I would do in this case, but I would not fail them. What usually happens when someone plagiarizes is that the teacher gives them a zero on the thing that they plagiarized on. I think this is a good idea because in most cases, the grade will be so significant that they will learn their lesson. In this case, the blogs are not as significant or not significant enough to make their grade go down enough for them to worry, and then they will not learn their lesson. I think they should be punished so that they learn their lesson and hesitate before they think about plagiarizing.