by Staff Writer Shannon Meiers

“Is cheating ever okay?” is one of many ethical questions which tend to be confusing and controversial.

Some would say it’s okay as long as you don’t get caught. I beg to differ. And I don’t think everybody considers how difficult it is to cheat on school work and not get caught.

I should know. I’ve tried that. And failed miserably. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to wind this tape back to an hour before “the busting.”

It was in third grade. In Language Arts. I was home schooled, so I was by myself, staring at the workbook on my desk until the image swam before my eyes. My mind went blank. I was racking my brain, trying to think of the elusive answer to one evil question which threatened to derail my education.

Then, suddenly, the light bulb went off. I had a marvelous idea: I would simply cheat! Mom was so busy with the baby, she’d never know the difference!

A million thoughts ran through my crazed third-grader brain — none of them being the consequences, of course. Clearly only positive things could come from my blatant disregard for “school policy.” Taking deep breaths to calm myself, I found the answer in the back of the book and painstakingly copied it word for word.

Heart pounding, head throbbing, knees knocking, I returned the workbook to the desk, slipped my no. 2 pencil back in the cup, and sneaked away to find mischief.

In all honesty, I completely forgot about the incident until my mother called me. And not the usual “Shannon-honey-what-do-you-want-for-dinner” call. This was the seldom-heard but always feared “Shannon-Marie-Meiers-you-are-in-BIG-trouble-because-I-am-using-your-full-given-name” call.

In that one panic-invaded moment, I saw my mother holding my workbook open to the page that held my “enhanced’ answer.

“Now, all I want to know,” she asked in a calm voice (too calm, by my thinking), “is why would you cheat? You know better than that!”

I inhaled a huge gulp of air in an effort to calm myself and choked on it. What could have possibly gone wrong? My plan was perfect! I had cleverly devised it so that my education wouldn’t grind to a screeching halt!

I kept my eyes on my bright pink socks, mumbling: “I didn’t cheat…..”

My palms were all sweaty and clammy. I was really in over my head now. There was no way out.

Mom did not look convinced. “Yeah, right,” she said dryly. “Now, really, why did you do it?”

I gave up. The battle was over. I had lost the war.

“Okay, okay, I cheated.” I admitted, cheeks burning with shame. “How did you figure it out?”

In answer , my mom pointed out my copied response:

“Answers may vary.”

Shannon is a high school sophomore who is deeply passionate about making a difference for Christ. She is involved with the special needs’ ministry in her church, but she’s the one who feels like she’s learning through it.