You see that a classmate of yours is always struggling to complete his English homework. How can you help him?
Answers
You can either use the following discussion or formulate your own discussion taking ideas from it:
Student A: Hey where have you been? I wanted your advice on a very crucial issue.
Student B: I was at canteen with Saumya! What happened?
Student A: You know, Samita has started irritating me recently. I told you last week how on the pretext of doing homework together, she just copies all my ideas and presents to the teacher! She gets the benefits of my hard-work and creativity.
Student B: Well, that is really unethical! What did she exactly do?
Student A: You know our English teacher has given us one-minute topics for speaking activity! She came to my home last evening insisting that we would prepare our topics together. I showed her my speech that I had prepared with so much of effort. I also helped her with her topic. But today morning, when I showed my speech to madam, she was shocked to see it as the copy of Samita’s speech! I was stunned! I explained to madam everything.
Student B: Madam must have known who the culprit is since you are the topper of the class!
Student A: Yes, she believed me. But kindly advise me what should I do?
Student B: We must talk to her together! We must tell her this type of copying others’ ideas won’t help her in the long run! We must tell her she will never ever develop her creativity, intelligence, and other faculties if she has this thief’s attitude.
Student A: The mental abilities that make us academically brilliant develop only if we honestly try to do our own tasks, solve our own sums, and do our own assignments. Copying others’ assignments, speeches, and sums will only damage self-confidence, self-conviction, and won’t let the inner potential to develop to its optimal level.
Student B: We will tell her henceforth we won’t do our home-work together. We will assure her we will help her as much as the limits permit us; but we won’t give her our assignments for copying. We will have to be very decisive on that.
Student A: That’s good. We will have to tell it to her bluntly. Let’s go to her and tell her our decision.
Follow up questions and answers:
Is there a way ...might help?
I don’t think there is any other way than talking to him/her about it. I will tell him/her it is wrong copying someone else’s work. It is no less than stealing.
How easy/difficult do you think it would be for you...?
It will be a difficult thing. First of all he/she won’t accept it; secondly he/she might get angry and stop talking to me.
Do you think a common friend’s help...?
I think a common friend can really help me resolve the problem. He can mediate between both of us. He can convey my concern to him/her.