On the very first day of school you sit down in class, say hello to all the friends you did not seen over the summer and then wait for the teacher to introduce himself to the class. For some reason I have yet to understand, we, as students, tend to be most attentive on that very first day of school than on any other day of the year. Maybe this could be because I had finally reached the final year of high school and couldn't wait to get it started, but it is always hard to tell. As I continued throughout my first last day of high school as a senior, I went from Math to Psychology to Gym to Consumer Ed to Humanities and found that even though these classes are all completely different, there is something that makes them similar. These similarities can be described on exactly one sheet of paper which is read aloud on the first day of school in every class period.
That day I sat in all my classes listening to words come out of the teachers' mouths but, being a senior, I told myself I had heard this a million times and decided not to pay any attention to the content being read to me in that letter. Even though I was completely inattentive when my teachers were reading, there is always that one thing that you just can't ignore when being read the rules of what is required from every student. This one topic I am talking about is plagiarism. Let's face it, every student in the Glenbrook South building has had a least one teacher that has given specific instruction on how plagiarism is never a right decision to make. Now, don't get me wrong, I am in full support that stealing another's idea is completely wrong and punishment should be used under certain situations, but i feel that this issue is often misunderstood.
From day one we are always told in order to avoid using another persons idea, we have to be creative and think of our own new ideas. However, assuming that my understanding is correct, in a discussion we talked about in class, using someone else's idea and creativity go hand in hand. Now I know this may seem to be a some what unreal combination of plagiarizing and being creative, but when looking at it in a different light the pieces start to fall together.
No idea is ever your own. Those simple words describe how these two vastly different subjects can be related to one another. In an article written in the New York Times, writer Trip Gabriel explained how this idea of plagiarism can often be miss understood and one of his answers consists of the fact that there isn't anything that can be described with originality. One day you could be looking at an invention some random scientist had made, but that same day you could think of a way to apply similar functions the other invention had done, but in your own unique way. Now is this considered plagiarism or being creative? Well, this topic could be very debatable. It is hard to come up with an answer because you can see the point of both sides. However, the point to prove here is that creativity is something that is greatly influenced by other outside factors. It is nearly impossible to be creative without first coming in contact with the ability to view the idea or concept of another person.
Katie, I would have to agree with a lot that you are saying. When all the teachers read the same exact rules in every single class, honestly, nobody listens. They make it sound like every idea we have ever heard can never be used again because we can not copy. The only way we get smarter is by learning from example. No one has completely original ideas, because they are always using past examples to form what they create. Honestly, for the most part, no one is purposely plagiarizing, they are just using examples. Now, on the other hand copy and pasting a paper and saying it is yours is going a little over board, and that is more of the focus of plagiarizing. Overall I think the whole plagiarizing idea is drilled down a little too much at the beginning of the year.
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