The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
News
Honesty & Honor Codes
As we focus this month on the value “honesty,” my mind returned to a New York Times piece that appeared last spring. Written by Middlebury College student Jessica Cheung, “The Fading Honor Code” discussed a student survey that found that 35% of Middlebury respondents “admitted to violating the honor code at least once in the 2012-13 academic year” and that 63% “would feel neutral about, or not report, cheating.” A campus-wide debate ensued about this hallmark underpinning of a Middlebury education. Middlebury’s honor code purportedly promotes peer proctoring and prohibits professors “from being in the exam room without the permission of the dean.” It also “morally obligates” student witnesses to report cheating.
As a result of the discussion, for the first time in the history of the school’s honor code, professors in the economics department (currently the most popular major) successfully petitioned the administration to proctor exams for seven courses. Leung maintains that the administration quickly conceded that the concept of student-monitored tests was outmoded. Even the college’s president was quoted as saying, “If exams are proctored, it wouldn’t be a big loss.”
Yet Leung eloquently argues that instead of watering down the honor code, efforts should have been made to enhance student honesty. By abandoning the loftier human expectations embodied in the code, the university undermines the expectation of integrity, which, Leung believes, it should be championing.
Leung writes that “ethical judgment… has been supplanted by our need to succeed. The pressure that got us into an elite college still dogs us; now the goal is a high-paying job or graduate school.” Furthermore, she holds that “a culture that is tolerant of bad behavior will not only doom students to continued complacency, but ultimately rationalize more severe acts of deceit. The real point of an education is to teach us to be more critical of ourselves… Learning from our mistakes is, after all, why we’re here.”
This dilemma resonates even at the elementary and middle school level. From the earliest ages, students need to learn that honesty is almost always “the best policy” and that it inspires trustworthiness, one of the fundamental building blocks of human connection. Children need adult help to learn that character is defined by “what we do when no one is looking,” and that by acting honestly towards others and oneself, they are doing the right thing. Ultimately, it is as Leung observes, “honesty, personal responsibility, learning for the right reason, choosing right in a moment of temptation. These are the very deepest and most literal things we ask a school to teach us.” At The Country School, we are dedicated to these ideals right from the start. But we know that part of starting right is recognizing that these lessons maintain lifelong relevance.
Recent News
List of 5 news stories.
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Conversation & Homecoming - Saturday, February 24, 2024
Read MoreThe Country School, Talbot County Free Library, and the Avalon Foundation, sponsors, join with fourteen other community organizations to present Conversation & Homecoming with Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, a program free and open to all. -
TCS Upper School presents 'Matilda, Jr.!'
Read MoreThe Country School will present Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR. on March 1st & 2nd at 7pm and on March 3rd at 2pm in the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $10. Click here to purchase tickets. -
Renowned Scholar Celeste-Marie Bernier visits The Country School
This week, The Country School was honored to welcome a distinguished visitor to its campus, Professor Celeste-Marie Bernier, Chair of United States and Atlantic Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.Read More -
Secondary School Night 2023
On Tuesday, October 3, over 30 secondary school representatives visited our Secondary School Night, an event open to students in grades 5-8.Read More -
Country School Summer Camps 2023
Our summer camps aren't just open to Country School students. Check out the many great offerings this summer at this link.
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