Although an honor code could be helpful to stop cheating, Drew Charter shouldn’t implement an honor code.
In source E we see a table, in this table we see questions asked to students about the honor code. It reads as follows “Students who believe the honor code is fairly enforced (48%) Students who do not know the range of sanctions that can occur (42%) Students who would report a fellow classmate for cheating (8%) Students who violated the honor code and didn’t get caught. (40%)” Given these statistics it makes me wonder; why is there an honor code? Although there is an honor code; 40% of people still cheat, 52% don’t think it’s fairly enforced and only 8% of people would report a classmate. What’s the point of having an honor code if no one respects or follows it?
Source C is a snippet of a newspaper article on Harvard and their honor code. This text states “Colleges with successful honor codes must invest considerable resources in programs that influence how the honor code is perceived.” Also in this text Harvard students “are skeptical that signing a piece of paper will suddenly cause a cheater to change his ways.” If it takes so many resources and the smartest kids in the world question it, what good does it do? When resources and time are spent enforcing a code when cameras do even better of a job it doesn’t make sense.
Source A is a UK cartoon that states “Recent research has shown that a spycam can greatly improve the honor code.” This shows how unserious an honor code is as well as making a great point. A spy cam would catch things that people don’t even see. It would be a better replacement for an honor code people are joking about.
One argument for not implementing an honor code is source B. At the bottom of the text it states “ I voted in favor (of an honor code) because I wanted to go to a school where I could feel comfortable taking an Exam without worrying about someone looking at my paper. Although this is a good point, she stated herself that the original code was wrong and that it seemed like another set of rules rather than trusting kids. This is a problem when these kids no longer have these “rules” looking after them there's so clue what they’ll do when there’s no code.
Drew Charter shouldn’t implement an honor code even though it might help stop cheating because people don’t respect it, follow it and the amount of resources it will take.