During high school, I witnessed several classmates blatantly committing plagiarism. Due to a lack of comprehensive discussion about plagiarism at the time, they would often copy content directly from online sources and submit it as their own work without any proper citations. This practice seemed commonplace and was rarely questioned or addressed by teachers.
The incidents were not reported or handled accordingly, and the assignments were graded without repercussions. However, as discussions on plagiarism became a part of our curriculum, we were educated on the importance of proper citation and creating references for any borrowed content. This new understanding instilled a greater sense of accountability in us as students.
Following these discussions, teachers began to adopt stricter measures to prevent plagiarism, such as using plagiarism detection tools and emphasizing the ethical implications of academic dishonesty. While my classmates initially benefited from their actions without consequence, the shift in focus to academic integrity ultimately fostered a more responsible and honest approach to completing assignments.