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May 25, 2012
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May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
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Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
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Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
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The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
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Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
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The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
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Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
March 12, 2007
/ 22 Adar, 5767
Homework Help
By
Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir
The delicate line between helping a child with assignments and actually doing them.
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Q: I discovered I have a gift for helping others with math problems. Can I offer my service to online help sites?
A: Nobody knows exactly when the first homework was assigned, but it's a fair bet that whenever it was, the first attempt to get help was only a few hours later. Classmates, parents and siblings have always been considered fair game for help with perplexing assignments.
The newest horizon in this millennia-old struggle is homework help websites. Usually the sites don't directly offer help to students but rather serve as a clearinghouse to match students up with tutors who work independently. Tutors generally contact with students through a combination of email, instant messaging, and special white-board software. Different sites have varying degrees of supervision over the qualifications and ethics of their proffered tutors.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a homework help site. In some ways this is a welcome and democratizing development. In the past, students with educated parents have had a significant head start in school, since their parents could help them with their homework. Equally-qualified students from disadvantaged homes and neighborhoods had difficulty keeping up.
Equal educational opportunity is in fact a principle value in Jewish tradition. Judaism frowns on elitism in education. The Talmud recounts the praise of Yehoshua ben Gamla, who over a thousand years ago instituted universal primary education among Jewish boys:
"At first, someone who had a father, he would teach him Torah; one without a father could not learn Torah... Until Yehoshua ben Gamla came and instituted that there should be teachers in every province and in every town." (1)
Likewise, internet resources like such help sites create a situation where there are tutors in every neighborhood and virtually every home.
However, we cannot ignore the dangers of this phenomenon either. As any parent of schoolchildren knows, there is a delicate line between helping a child with assignments and actually doing them. Since the long-term interest of the child is more closely aligned with developing knowledge and study habits, most (but not all) parents are careful to avoid crossing the line. But it is understandable that a tutor being paid by the student might be more interested in customer satisfaction then with long-term educational performance.
It is up to the instructor to provide an explicit policy regarding exactly how much homework help is permitted, and responsibility for adhering to the policy resides primarily with the student. But the tutor cannot evade responsibility entirely. To the extent that a tutor aids a student in violating the educational policy of the school, he is a confederate in wrongdoing and transgresses the Biblical commandment, "Don't place an obstacle before the blind" (Leviticus 19:14). Our tradition interprets this as an obstacle to righteousness, that is, enabling a transgression by someone else.
On the other hand, it is clear that tutors cannot be expected to monitor every customer to make sure that no school regulations are violated. A tutor would be considered abetting cheaters in one of two cases:
1. If a significant fraction of customers are cheaters. If I am a merchant and once in a while my product is misused, I don't have to close my business. But if a main use of my product is for wrongdoing (example: selling narcotics paraphernalia or lock picks) then I bear responsibility. The Talmud forbids selling diluted wine to a store since the chances were very high that the store would use such wine to deceive its own customers. (2)
2. If the business actively solicits or encourages such business. For example, some term paper sites advertise that they can customize the paper to conform to special assignments of the teacher, or promise that their papers will earn a certain grade. In this case they are clearly soliciting customers who are trying to hoodwink the school and get unfair credit for work they did not do.
If you personally are always careful when tutoring to teach and enable, and never actually give out answers, then there is no reason you can't make your talent into a livelihood and use it to help others learn.
Just as tutors cannot evade their responsibility for unscrupulous customers, so site managers cannot evade responsibility for unscrupulous tutors. If a significant fraction of tutors are out of line, or if the site encourages such tutors (even if they are few), then the site management shares responsibility.
Anyone operating a homework help site should make sure that tutors are qualified; should institute clear guidelines for permissible conduct which forbids simply doing homework assignments for students; and should introduce a monitoring system which will enable them to root out any tutors who help customers cheat in school.
SOURCES: (1) Babylonian Talmud, tractate Bava Basra 21a. See also tractate Nedarim 81a. (2) Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 60a.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan
administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology.
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