My wife's dental hygienist shocked my wife.

[MineralMan]

She told her, for some reason, while cleaning my wife's teeth, that she had purchased every paper she turned in in college. She's 25 years old. Amazing. My wife was too shocked to even say anything. Uff da!

[friedgreentomatoes]

1. maybe it would be a good idea...

to run her prescribed "dental hygiene plan" by some other dental hygienist

[unblock]

49. yeah, ask her who she bought THAT from !

[MadHound]

2. There's a lot of that happening,

But a number of schools are taking action. New computer software that can spot such off the shelf papers, spot plagiarized work, and various other such cheats. Perhaps it is time to inform this hygienist's alma mater what is going on so they can correct the oversight.

[MineralMan]

11. It was the attitude that was shocking.

To mention something like that casually while engaged in cleaning teeth just seems to be to be bizarre. Why would anyone do that? My wife is trying to decide how she will tell her dentist, who is the partner of her cousin, why she doesn't want this person cleaning her teeth. If it were me, I'd just say what happened. My wife, though, is less forthright with such things. There's another hygienist who works there, so she'll probably just request a change.

[MadHound]

17. It's amazing what some people will say when they're holding you captive,

I've had barbers drop some bombs in my lap where I just kind of go OOOOOO-K, and then go find another barber.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

59. Your wife's DH is George Bush Jr? nt

[phantom power]

62. A theory: a 25-year-old would have grown up in a world where...

our leaders -- politicians, CEOs, etc, have led a purely accountability-free existance. The fish rots from the head down.

[HappyMe]

63. Lol! Oh, please.

Dragging that into this is ridiculous.

Either that girl's parents didn't teach her right from wrong, or the girl just doesn't care. I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Why spend the time writing a paper and learning something, when there are parties to go to.

[woo me with science]

26. I found this article by a "shadow scholar" very interesting:

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Shadow-Scholar/125329/

The request came in by e-mail around 2 in the afternoon. It was from a previous customer, and she had urgent business. I quote her message here verbatim (if I had to put up with it, so should you): "You did me business ethics propsal for me I need propsal got approved pls can you will write me paper?"

I've gotten pretty good at interpreting this kind of correspondence. The client had attached a document from her professor with details about the paper. She needed the first section in a week. Seventy-five pages.

I told her no problem.

It truly was no problem. In the past year, I've written roughly 5,000 pages of scholarly literature, most on very tight deadlines. But you won't find my name on a single paper.

I've written toward a master's degree in cognitive psychology, a Ph.D. in sociology, and a handful of postgraduate credits in international diplomacy. I've worked on bachelor's degrees in hospitality, business administration, and accounting. I've written for courses in history, cinema, labor relations, pharmacology, theology, sports management, maritime security, airline services, sustainability, municipal budgeting, marketing, philosophy, ethics, Eastern religion, postmodern architecture, anthropology, literature, and public administration. I've attended three dozen online universities. I've completed 12 graduate theses of 50 pages or more. All for someone else....

(more at link)

[MineralMan]

30. Yes. It's certainly possible to earn a living writing academic papers.

It's one of the few types of writing I refuse to do, even though I've did very well with my own academic papers. I could write them...no problem. I just won't. I've turned down many, despite a disclaimer, saying I don't do academic papers, it on my website. Some people have tried to argue with me on the subject. They get a concise and very pointed lecture on personal ethics from me when they do.

I don't care about bylines. Most of my writing these days is content for small business websites. My name's nowhere in view. Even with those, though, I've turned down a number of website jobs, and investigate the business before accepting a job. If a business smells of shady character, I won't write for it. I don't write porn sites, sites for ripoff businesses, sites for conservative politicians, or sites for churches. If I don't believe in what I'd be doing, I just turn it down. I'll never be rich in life, but I'll die knowing that I maintained my ethics.

[Blue_Tires]

48. i found this one, too...

http://www.onthemedia.org/2008/nov/28/the-paper-market/transcript/

[liberalhistorian]

50. I read that, too, as it was recently published in

Reader's Digest. Totally disgusting and sickening. While plagiarism has always been a problem in academia from its beginnings, the blatant, overt use of it now and the casual way in which it's regarded is especially shocking. A large part of the problem is the emphasis by colleges and graduate schools on grades, regardless of how those grades were obtained. As long as you have a certain GPA they often don't care how it was obtained and they don't require the kind of work that would really show what a student has truly learned and what his or her capabilities are. Until that changes, we're going to see more of this shit.

On a personal level, it was upsetting to see that that writer has also written for law students. I was a paralegal for years, a damned good one, who can research and write legal documents, pleadings and briefs in my sleep and my work for previous employers has won cases and earned plaudits. I have assisted those with no money who were desperately in need of legal help, including on Indian reservations, and was interested in legal aid and public interest law. But because of a 20-plus-year-old GPA that has nothing to do with who I am now and what I'm capable of, and the score on a fucking standardized test (LSAT) that has little to nothing to do with the actual study and practice of law, I couldn't get into law school. Because GPA and LSAT are ALL. THAT. MATTERS. PERIOD. I don't care what they say about trying to determine that only those with the best character and fitness and interest in service can become lawyers, etc., etc., blahblahblah. BULL. SHIT.

Yet these rich fuckers who can afford to pay for someone else to do their work so that they can get the kind of required GPA can get into law school, fuck around, continue to pay people to do their work and graduate with a J.D. and then proceed to be a disgrace to the profession somewhere down the line. Or only care about how much money they can screw the little guy out of in corporate law instead of doing what they can to actually help others. And believe me, I met enough of these idiots during my now-former paralegal career. And hubby, as an attorney, has met even more.

So, until this obsessive focus on grades uber alles to the exclusion of everything else ends, this shit will continue.

[former9thward]

70. If your hubby really is an attorney maybe he will tell you how law school works.

Very few law school courses require papers. Most have just one exam -- a final and that is what your grade is based on. Also when you graduate you have to pass the bar exam. If you goofed off in law school you will not pass that. Sorry your failure to get into law school has lead you to believe BS about it.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

38. A lot of apps like Turnitin have been out there long enough that a 25YO should have been caught.

Not every teacher checks, but SOMEthing should have flagged her at some point.

[tammywammy]

80. It wouldn't be caught

They buy written papers which something like turnitin won't catch. There are even free online plagiarism checks that someone can run their paper through to check (I know, I've used them on group papers to make sure a group partner didn't plagiarize). The thing with buying your paper these days, is your buying a fresh written paper, not something copy and pasted off the internet.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Your wife should get a new dental hygienist. nt

[MineralMan]

6. Oh, she will get a new hygienist, for sure.

Why would anyone tell someone about such a shameful thing as casual conversation? Blows my mind.

[Raine]

22. GOOD! No way would I let someone like that do

any kind of work in my mouth or any part of my body. :scared:

[Generic Brad]

82. She bragged about it because she thinks she is smart

While most of us believe an intelligent person would prove their intelligence by doing the actual work it takes to get a degree, there are always those who think that gaming the system proves they are the smartest of them all. :shrug:

[avaistheone1]

9. I think so too.

She probably cheated on all her dental hygiene exams too.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Speaking for myself

It would make me question any advice she dispensed concerning my dental hygiene...plus, there's the probing my gums with sharp instruments. On another level, I am repulsed by such a cavalier attitude - rather conservative IMO.

[Bucky]

5. Well, at least she's thorough and consistant. Good qualities in a dental hygienist.

[TheWraith]

7. I originally read that as meaning she'd bought every paper your wife turned in.

Which would be some creepy-ass stalking behavior.

[Broderick]

45. That was nearly what I read at first.

I was like, cool. Then read the comments. Oopppss. LMAO

[Phentex]

73. I thought he meant every paper the lady turned in...

Meaning she purchased her old papers.

My first thought was "Why the hell would any school keep MY papers?!" They were certainly crap but they were my original crap.

But then I figured out what he meant.

[City Lights]

8. Wow. That's one helluvan admission.

Out of curiosity...where did she "earn" her degree?

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. so she cheated herself into a degree. Horrible.

[MineralMan]

14. From what I understand, it's not uncommon.

I got an email the other day soliciting me to write original college papers. I write for a living and have a website advertising that fact. I would never do such a thing, but it looks like some people are willing to pay what it costs to get an originally-written paper to turn in. I've also been asked if I did doctoral dissertations. Lousy education is not, apparently, just caused by bad schools.

[JuniperLea]

15. And is apparently quite proud of her acquisitions!

Shameful. She has no shame... no clue that she's a cheater and a poser and a fraud. She's no more a dental hygienist that I am!

I just learned that a friend of a friend had his wife complete the coursework and online testing done to acquire his teaching degree. He knows he's a cheat and a fraud... so this is all hush-hush... shhhhh... please don't tell anyone!

:crazy:

[MedicalAdmin]

72. Please report that person to the Dept of education.

It won't stop them but it will flag their file so that when they do screw up...

Please, do the right thing.

[badhair77]

12. I'm curious, too.

Who GAVE her a diploma? And how cavalier that she would brag about it. What an attitude.

[NeedleCast]

13. When I was in School, I Wrote Papers For Others

Didn't think much about it, back in 1992 before the internet hit it's stride. Problem was, it paid way better than waiting tables or doing some other minimum wage job.

[MineralMan]

16. I would never do such a thing. I can't even imagine doing that.

I worked hard to build my writing skills, and do that as a profession. Under no circumstances would I write something for another person for that purpose.

It is simply unethical, in my opinion. I wouldn't admit to it, if I were you, to be quite frank.

[NeedleCast]

18. Didn't Seem Like a Big Deal at Age 19

We're talking about English I and English II type papers, not a masters thesis, but I realize that's no excuse. People see you get a few good grades on a paper and the next thing you know, I've got folks hovering over me paying a hundred to several hundred dollars per paper, depending on length and when they needed it by.

Doesn't really bother me to admit that I did a dumb thing when I was a teenager or in my early 20s.

[MineralMan]

20. Whatever you say...nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

40. I am completely cynical about college generally.

I see no reason to criticize you for getting a piece of the financial transaction that a college degree is.

[NeedleCast]

55. Thanks. Apparently There Is At Least One DU Who Is Free of Sin

[jberryhill]

19. Really?

I've written pleadings and briefs for other lawyers a lot, and gotten paid for it.

Rule 11 requires the signer to have read the thing, not to have written it.

[MineralMan]

25. College papers are supposed to demonstrate something you

have learned and have thought about. They are not work products, but are supposed to reflect your knowledge and thinking ability. Legal Pleadings and briefs are work products, and can be written for hire. Most of them are not written by the attorney representing you, but by an assistant, who is paid for that work. Very different things. One is cheating. The other is not.

[eridani]

81. And if you are any good, you have a distinctive style that could get you in trouble

I got around that by just doing detailed outlines for people, and supplying some quotes, footnotes and an intro paragraph. Less money from that, but at least my clients got a chance to learn something by putting the final product together for themselves. Lots would rather not cheat, but just have problems getting started.

[WinkyDink]

29. I hope you didn't incorrectly use "it's" then.

[MineralMan]

32. That's one of the things that gets checked with any writing

I do for money. The first step in my proofreading is to search for all instances of "it's" and fix the wrong ones. There are other common errors I also check. I type so fast that my fingers sometimes type the apostrophe. I'm a little more casual about forum writing. :shrug:

[WinkyDink]

33. Oh, likewise, I'm sure (retired English teacher here)! I'ze just tweakin'.

[MineralMan]

34. I know. No problem. I try to proofread my posts, but

forget from time to time. Did I misuse "it's" in this thread? I certainly might have.

[unblock]

51. personally i'd never do this. but if i *did*, i would put some "typos" *IN*.

if the idea is for the paper to "pass" and to not get caught, then i would make sure the paper wasn't "too" good, and had a plausible numbers of "typos" and goofs.

leave an "its/it's" error or two in.

[NeedleCast]

56. Micorsoft can check that for me in formal writing

Goooooooooo Spelling and Grammar check!

[Phentex]

75. I wrote more than I should have for a boyfriend in grad school...

he was really smart but English was not his native language. So I mainly tweaked his papers or paraphrased as he explained to me the point he was trying to make. He didn't pay me but he took me out to nice restaurants. :)

He's a college professor now.

[arikara]

21. I once had a taxi driver

tell me how he blackmailed somebody. He was really proud of his entrepreneurialism. (I know that isn't a word but it should be...)

[Moosepoop]

77. Actually, it is...

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/entrepreneurial?region=us#m_en_us1417590.004

entrepreneurial(en·tre·pre·neur·i·al)

Pronunciation:/ˌäntrəprəˈno͝orēəl/
adjective

characterized by the taking of financial risks in the hope of
profit; enterprising:
an entrepreneurial culture
our entrepreneurial spirit thrives on meeting the next challenge

Derivatives

entrepreneurialism
noun

entrepreneurially
adverb

:)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

23. Free Market!

:woohoo:

:patriot:












:eyes:

[louis-t]

24. I had a repug tell me you can't 'buy' a degree.

His wife works at a college. She said "yes, you can." He was floored. ANTONE who thinks George Bush 'earned' a masters degree needs a reality check.

[LaurenG]

36. who is Antone and why does it matter what he thinks?.

;) :hide:

[louis-t]

46. Man, I tried to fix it, but it was too late.

Antone is the guy bush bought his papers from. Or, so I've heard.

[ThomWV]

39. Tell him to check the news for the Degree the Governor of this state bought his daughter

When he was Governor (now he's a Senator) Manchin bought a master's degree for his daughter. Actually I'm not sure it was bought, it might have just been given to her because of who her partents are, anyway she did not earn it and she was given it. It was found out and all manner of high ranking West Virginia University officials were either fired or resigned.

[WinkyDink]

27. Do some people here ACTUALLY NEED to have "PLAGIARISM" defined??!?!

If you did it, YOU CHEATED, OKAY?

Discussing how you are paid better now is only to remind others of the old joke.

[laundry_queen]

28. Very common unfortunately

and before colleges caught up with the internet they had plenty of generic papers for sale online.

As a current student working my ass off, it infuriates me that this happens. And it's even worse that the people that do it don't care.

My school runs all papers and exams through plagerism recognition software. They are very strict if you are caught. However, you need to get caught. There were several students in my class last year that were blatantly cheating. As I'm in a program that requires the use of laptops for exams, there were those who would instant message each other (sometimes in other languages so students couldn't see that they were 'talking' about the exam) the answers. It's insanely easy to just close the box when you see the teacher coming. Yes, I mentioned my concerns to the instructor. In the following term, we had someone other than the instructor monitoring an exam, and this person was aware of the problem and caught those same people messaging each other. She told the instructor (and told the instructor to give them zero) and the instructor did nothing but give them a stern warning. She didn't even report it! That was so frustrating, because it gives the school a really bad name when some company hires these cheaters and then thinks 'what a horrible school' when that person doesn't live up to minimum standards. It hurts the rest of us. I find it simply disgusting and immoral and I have NO respect feor people who do that. If I ever found out one of my employees did that they would be fired on the spot. I think your wife should say something, she's actually putting people at risk if she doesn't, IMO. Good luck.

[louslobbs]

31. Why would anyone do this and then brag about it to others? I'm not shocked by the fact that the

hygienist cheated her way through college, but I am surprised that she would be so proud of her cheating, that she would feel comfortable sharing the fact that she is a cheat with others, especially her patients. Suppose this gets back to her employer and they decide to let her go. Uff da indeed.
Lou

[MilesColtrane]

53. There's just no stigma for some people.

They have the attitude that they were smart enough to find a shortcut to get what they wanted...the ends justifies the means.

Very similar to the attitude of people who download movies and music without paying for them.

[louslobbs]

54. I guess......I wish you were wrong about that, but I sense that you are not. Thanks Miles.

Lou

[HereSince1628]

35. Reminiscences--they include the darnedest things...

College stories are a lot like Nun/Catholic School stories without any shiny patent leather shoes that reflect up.

Say thanks to the storyteller, and consider leaving a tip if the quality of the entertainment was very good.

[Ezlivin]

37. The hygienist also reuses floss and paper cups for rinsing

It saves money, or so said one of the papers she purchased.

[RaleighNCDUer]

41. Perhaps that is the reason she's now working as a dental hygienist. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

43. Hygenist salaries nationwide.

http://www1.salary.com/dental-hygienist-Salary.html

The median expected salary for a typical Dental Hygienist in the United States is $62,068.

$12k more than the median family income.

[PCIntern]

57. I wouldn't even tell you what one of my hygienists makes...

you'd be upset. I know I am...

[lumberjack_jeff]

58. Not really upset. Just admire the ROI she got from investing in paper.

She got the degree AND the time to socialize with pre-meds.

[slackmaster]

42. It doesn't surprise me that someone who is dumb enough to admit doing that...

...would have done that.

[unblock]

52. ding ding ding!

similarly, it's not too surprising that someone dumb enough to have cheated themselves out of an education would also be dumb enough to admit it to a random patient....

[Broderick]

44. I read this to begin with and I thought

you were saying that your wife was amazed that the dental hygienist bought all your wife's papers. I have no idea what your wife does, but I gathered she wrote papers or something for college. LMAO. Starting reading the comments, and went back and oooopppsss. Slow down Broderick.

[deaniac21]

47. All of these words whispered in my ear

Tell a story that I cannot bear to hear
Just 'cause she said it, it don't mean that she meant it
People say crazy things
Just 'cause she said it, don't mean that she meant it
Just 'cause you heard it

[postatomic]

60. And I thought not going to the dentist because I couldn't afford it

was a big deal. Bought her way through college??!!! The horror. Paint me humble.

Does she use the pick and scrap method or the new hi-tech water hose?

[Javaman]

61. My first question to the hygienist would be: did you wash your hands? nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

69. Would you believe her? n/t

[CopingBarker]

64. Cheating is a way of life for many college students

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/widespread-cheating-scandal-prompts-florida-professor-issues-ultimatum/story?id=11737137

I do wish I had paid someone to at least proofread my English papers though, I had this Nazi-like professor that would scrap your entire paper if he found a single gramatical or punctuation error (before Word). The stress of that crap still makes me cringe.

But I do know how to use a semicolon. Big deal.

[Odin2005]

65. This is why no rich person fails college.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

66. It was actually pretty easy to catch students in plagiarism

The only classes I ever assigned papers in were classes in Japanese literature or Japanese culture, in which I also gave in-class essay tests. Because of these tests, I knew which students were good writers and which ones weren't.

When a student whose in-class writing skills were noticeably poor and who didn't talk too good neither turned in a paper worthy of a graduate student, I knew that the paper was plagiarized.

This was before the Internet.

The moral of this story: know your students.

[underpants]

67. "Animal Farm" $30 for an A, $25 for a B, $20 for a C - that was my standard rate in the mid 80's

You can also buy doctor's notes for missing work on line too.

[Greybnk48]

68. My daughters MIL, aged 66, brags that she cheated all

the way through school. Copied others answers on tests and had others write her papers.

[IndyPragmatist]

71. You can make a lot of money writing papers for others

I've never had an issue with writing papers. When I was in school, I could knock out a 25 pager in an afternoon. I've had people offer me over $300 to write a paper for them. I never did, but I did provide them with sources to get them going (which was too much).

But if I wanted to, I could have paid for my entire education by writing papers. There are a lot of rich dumb kids, or even just dumb kids who are desperate enough, that will spend hundreds of dollars to have someone do a few hours work for them.

One of my pledge brothers wrote a couple papers for pay. I remember some that he did, they were intro level courses that only asked for a few pages, but people were paying him $100 for an hour or two worth of work.

One thing you have to realize, you don't have to know what you are talking about to write a good paper. Just knowing how to find information and being able to identify important information (and always citing well) will get you an A on almost any paper.

[sammytko]

74. Is there a 4-yr degree for becoming a dental hygieneist?

I thought it was a training program of some sort? I think our community college had a 2 yr thing on it. Hmm. I know our dental clinic at Kelly AFB used to train them for free. Some kind of community program.

How many papers could she have written in her "colleg career"? She probably bought 2 or so before she dropped out. That would make it "ALL".

[deaniac21]

76. What the hell is a hygieneist ?

[sammytko]

78. Its a new stem that combines teeth and upper GI cleaning

[deaniac21]

83. LOL

[bemildred]

79. It's all about the money, isn't it? Why be surprised. nt