Monday, November 21, 2005
Outsourcing homework?
"Preeti Shah spends eight hours a day doing school projects. But make no mistake — this isn't some overburdened Class X student one is talking about, but a south Mumbai housewife who charges a fee to do professional projects for schoolchildren.
Today, Preeti — whose business card actually reads 'For Making School and College Projects and Notes' — has a flourishing trade, given the thousands of parents and children who see nothing improper about outsourcing homework. " - Times of India
Am sorry but this is outright ridiculous. How on earth could you justify such an act and even worse make a profession out of it? She does their homework and projects because 90% of her clients are too busy with extracurricular activities? I won't question the latter but how can vulnerable children hope to learn when they are told by institutions and parents that its ok that some "aunty" will do their homework for them, for a fee too? Its one thing if she was assisting them, or tutoring them. That concept makes sense to me. But this, this is flawed. No wrong. The way I see it is that it all boils down to the system (including parents) putting pressure on students to get good grades come what may, even if it means turning in work that is not yours. Then how do you expect them to be capable of original thinking?
Today, Preeti — whose business card actually reads 'For Making School and College Projects and Notes' — has a flourishing trade, given the thousands of parents and children who see nothing improper about outsourcing homework. " - Times of India
Am sorry but this is outright ridiculous. How on earth could you justify such an act and even worse make a profession out of it? She does their homework and projects because 90% of her clients are too busy with extracurricular activities? I won't question the latter but how can vulnerable children hope to learn when they are told by institutions and parents that its ok that some "aunty" will do their homework for them, for a fee too? Its one thing if she was assisting them, or tutoring them. That concept makes sense to me. But this, this is flawed. No wrong. The way I see it is that it all boils down to the system (including parents) putting pressure on students to get good grades come what may, even if it means turning in work that is not yours. Then how do you expect them to be capable of original thinking?
# posted by Surya Swamy : 4:08 PM
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i read the article and i thought 'WHAT is this world coming to.'
its ridiculous and i think the problem is that parents and kids alike, focus too much on the end result of things.
everything else in the middle is just the means to an end.
well obviously the kids are gonna suffer in the end for they will have neither the skills nor the knowledge when the time comes for them to be tested..
wonder what their parents are going to do then. 3 cheers to foresight.
its ridiculous and i think the problem is that parents and kids alike, focus too much on the end result of things.
everything else in the middle is just the means to an end.
well obviously the kids are gonna suffer in the end for they will have neither the skills nor the knowledge when the time comes for them to be tested..
wonder what their parents are going to do then. 3 cheers to foresight.
i read this article yesterday and was equally surprised at how open they were being about the issue on the front page of india's most popular daily newspaper. "don't they know it's CHEATING?!" i thought. then i realized that this is india, and it's been happening to different degrees at least since i was in grade school. because those extra marks do matter to many, many people. and hey, if you think about it, private tuitions aren't so far off from this part of our academic culture.
especially appalling (but you know what, in some perverse way, it makes sense) is the comment further down in the article that says that the project has to be dumbed down or wisened up based on the child's past achievements -- "if he's not so good in studies, i can't do a perfect project for him because then they'll know it's someone else behind the work". as if TOI front-page coverage isn't a dead giveaway. bizarre.
if this happened at wellesley, it would be a huge honour code violation and cause a campus-wide furore. as it is, though, it's just another way to bump up your percentage in the ICSE and ensure your prefectship and US college entrance 2-3 years down the line.
huzzah for us.
especially appalling (but you know what, in some perverse way, it makes sense) is the comment further down in the article that says that the project has to be dumbed down or wisened up based on the child's past achievements -- "if he's not so good in studies, i can't do a perfect project for him because then they'll know it's someone else behind the work". as if TOI front-page coverage isn't a dead giveaway. bizarre.
if this happened at wellesley, it would be a huge honour code violation and cause a campus-wide furore. as it is, though, it's just another way to bump up your percentage in the ICSE and ensure your prefectship and US college entrance 2-3 years down the line.
huzzah for us.
shocking about sums it up. I was just having a lengthy discussion with my aunt who's daughter (my cousin) is soon to write her 10th grade board exams - the pressure to score & top is simply immense & the competition between students & students' parents (!) borders on the savage. Every method to gain that small advantage is seen as ok.
When will these guys get it....
When will these guys get it....
Holy crap! They're teaching kids outsourcing at such a tender age these days.
Very shocked. And yet, I do see it as a symptom of turning the screw too tight on society (Japan, Singapore, and some other Asian cultures have similar problems). I hope people saw this as a moral wrong-doing after it got the press instead of turning into an outburst of new business opportunity...
Very shocked. And yet, I do see it as a symptom of turning the screw too tight on society (Japan, Singapore, and some other Asian cultures have similar problems). I hope people saw this as a moral wrong-doing after it got the press instead of turning into an outburst of new business opportunity...
gosh! its even more disturbing how alot of people dont think its wrong. "oh, look my son got 95% (it doesnt matter that he doesnt deserve it) and will probably suffer for it later...but that's ok cause he still did better than your kid"....ggrrrr..
i wonder if the indian education system is ever going to regard this practice as close as or infact as, PLAGIARISM!!!
I dont see any reason it not fall under the definition.
I only pray...the students and parents realize the potential hazard of the practice in their immediate future in universities.
At the same time, i also think the article does not shed light on the possible "extent" to which the students make use of the practice and their parents who make sure and think before paying for it. For instance, their children are not outsourcing the daily assignments but just for "trimming" or fine tunning their final projects. Another way is to make sure the student has done atleast 90-95% of the project by him/her self before undertaking a project!!
Again, am sure back in india and other countries, people are aware of the moral responsibilities. It just depends again on how deeply they care for the quality of the student's real intellect with respect to the form of education they are attaining!!
I dont see any reason it not fall under the definition.
I only pray...the students and parents realize the potential hazard of the practice in their immediate future in universities.
At the same time, i also think the article does not shed light on the possible "extent" to which the students make use of the practice and their parents who make sure and think before paying for it. For instance, their children are not outsourcing the daily assignments but just for "trimming" or fine tunning their final projects. Another way is to make sure the student has done atleast 90-95% of the project by him/her self before undertaking a project!!
Again, am sure back in india and other countries, people are aware of the moral responsibilities. It just depends again on how deeply they care for the quality of the student's real intellect with respect to the form of education they are attaining!!
Out rightly outrageous! How can parents support such behavior? Aren’t students paying enough money, as it is to acquire a decent education? On top of that, they actually have the nerve to pay extra to literally reverse their education cycle, and think nothing of it! They ought to be ashamed of themselves! Unfortunately, our comments aren’t going to change their attitude, but if the Indian Minister for Education sets stringent laws that are put to practice, hopefully then something would be done to put Ms. Preeti and her ‘clients’ out of work/school or even better…in prison (where I think they belong)!
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