Striving for Excellence?
Just this once. Everyone is doing it. I probably won’t get caught anyway.
This is a common but deeply flawed reasoning students use to justify cheating. While cheating may appear harmless at first, even a single act can carry long-term consequences that extend beyond academic life. As previous Lifenews articles have cited, overemphasis on grades, the competitive nature of Asian culture, and even the rapid development of artificial intelligence have made it increasingly challenging to maintain academic integrity. Unfortunately, peer pressure furthers this, making it more difficult to resist the temptation to simply conform.
MGC New Life Christian Academy has always encouraged its students to pursue character before excellence. However, the temptation to cheat and pursue excellence at all costs—especially to fit in with peers—seems to overshadow the importance of character and integrity. Students must understand that to think that “it’s okay to cheat because other people are doing it” is just not a good enough argument. By giving in to this mindset, one is only deceiving oneself and setting the stage for one’s failure.
It is paradoxical to think that cheating will lead to success. While cheating may lead to short-term gratification, it only hinders students from reaching their full potential. Cheating fosters dependence on programs and shortcuts. While it may ultimately lead the student to the right answer, they may miss out on the learning experience that develops their critical thinking skills and essential values such as patience, responsibility, and diligence. The learning experience is arguably just as important as the learning itself, as it equips students with the character and fortitude they need to navigate society and its challenges as responsible citizens. As can be observed, character is an essential component of true and holistic success.
Moreover, it is important to understand that every act of cheating, especially when done routinely, desensitizes the student to dishonesty. As these recurring acts of dishonesty become a habit, they become more difficult to unlearn. As such, this attitude may carry over to other parts of the student’s personal and, eventually, professional life. Over time, the consequences of dishonesty will only grow more severe. Rather than just receiving a CAN or a zero on a quiz, cheating may harm one’s chances of entering one's dream college or even destroy one’s relationships.
Understand that true excellence is not only defined by success or external outcomes such as grades, which provide only fleeting gratification. Rather, it involves the process of personal development and growth. It includes pursuing your best possible self (being a person of integrity, working on your character, and developing your skills) and trusting that in time, success will follow. While the school motto, “Strive for character; Strive for excellence,” may lead students to compartmentalize character from excellence, the truth is, it is simply impossible to pursue excellence without character because character is the foundation on which excellence is built.
While society will always applaud external success, there is no value in achievement or something you did not work for yourself. Pursuing true excellence requires a shift in mindset–choosing to avoid comparing yourself with others and prioritize learning and development over simply getting your desired grade. After all, just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should. And though we, Christians, are in the world, as we are repeatedly told, we are not of it—so we should feel no need to conform to it. After all, “just this once” is usually, never truly just once.
