If a student cheats on a test, he or she gets a zero and perhaps a suspension. If a teacher cheats, he or she goes to jail. That punishment should be enough to discourage any teacher from cheating. The real possibility of prison should be enough for any teacher to call the authorities if an administrator pressures her to cheat. But we all know that the current 'real world' system requires teachers either to follow orders or to face charges of insubordination and subsequent loss of employment. Given the way hierarchies of school administration work, theAtlanta cheating story may be more complex and more worrisome than it appears at first reading.

First, let's remember that the vast majority of teachers are good people. They dedicate themselves to children. They teach children right from wrong. So what would make a group of Atlanta teachers agree to sit in a room together, erase wrong answers, and put in right ones? Were they doing it so their students would appear smarter? Were they doing it for the money? Or is it possible they were doing it because they felt it was a direct or indirect order from their administrators? I lean toward the latter reason. And I know for sure that until we empower teachers to say NO, we are vulnerable to more instances of cheating and possibly other scandals.

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