Open Book Exam Courses

[sirjake]

How do locks keep honest people honest ? The way I see it locks are locked to keep dishonest people out of your home ? Locks are locked because of fear, fear someone will take what is yours or fear of being harmed etc.. To me it is just an inconvenience to the honest person to have to lock their doors.

In your replies I see this same fear, in regards to the future worth of your degree.

Personally, I give little thought to such things as I do not want to live my life out of a sense of fear. Nor do I want my life to be dictated by the actions of cheaters or slackers.

"Locks keep honest people honest" is a common adage. Do a Google search if you don't believe me. The point is that a lock cannot possibly stop all intruders. It may stop some, but even a bad crook can usually break down a door to the average home, break a window, etc. The saying means that people aren't always trustworthy, even those who are generally honest. Of course, it's also a deterrent to crime from dishonest folks as well, but the point is that if you are dishonest enough, you can circumvent it.

That's why you have checks and balances in government, accounting, banking, etc. That's why virtually every major respected school tests and grades its students.

Also, as for the fear aspect: are the above banks operating out of fear? Our Founding Fathers who instituted the checks? Schools that try to prevent cheating? If so, I feel like I'm in good company. If it is fear, it's not misplaced. I would more term it "concern." I'm not going to go commit suicide if my degree is suddenly worthless. But I do want to protect my investment and make wise decisions about future investments. That's just smart, if you ask me.

To reiterate, I am in FAVOR of locks. I'm saying that people cannot be trusted to the extent that these exams are trusting people. If you're cool with leaving your doors unlocked with valuables present all the time because you believe in the inherent goodness of man or something of that nature, so be it.

And I'm saying that good folks, honest folks, should want these "locks." Proctors, standards, and cheating preventatives will *not* be 100% effective. But they are (and I'm using this phrase again) a good faith effort to keep people honest.