Student Honesty Is Paramount

As a member of the School Site Council and an active PTSA volunteer at Sunny Hills High School, I would like to thank The Times for the April 20 editorial stressing the importance of academic honesty in a school community.

I am also the parent of a student in one of the Theory of Knowledge classes where the recent cheating incident occurred. Many parents and other citizens in our community are very concerned about the messages being sent to our students regarding the importance of academic honesty.

In an effort to show our support for the honest, hard-working students on our campus, the Sunny Hills PTSA Board on April 2 unanimously passed an advisory resolution that can be summarized to state that “A student should be eligible for awards based on grade point average or classroom grades only if that student has maintained a citizenship record untarnished by any academic honesty violations.”

In addition to showing our support for the honest students, we hoped to make the message clear to any students who are contemplating cheating that they should not expect to be rewarded for a dishonest effort. In an institution that is charged with educating young minds, we must be deeply concerned with molding student character if we plan to send responsible young people into our world.

The students in the two Theory of Knowledge classes at Sunny Hills are all very bright and capable and have many times demonstrated their ability to perform group work when this was required. Any college or graduate school admissions counselor or prospective employer would be wise to pick a candidate who has demonstrated the ability to produce individually as well as in collaboration and who also has the integrity to choose the correct method of performance for the required situation.

BARBARA R. SCHUMAKER

Fullerton