Sorry kids, my dog ate your tests: lies in class

To live in a world without lying would be like living in a world without air—it’s just not humanly possible. Whether it’s to friends about their “dead” goldfish or to Mom about birth control, lies are told every day and everywhere.

During the school year, students and teachers are forced into the same routine and environment five times a week for nine months, making lying inevitable. Students lie to teachers left and right (and be assured that they are aware) to avoid suffering the consequences of speaking the truth. Such lies range from tardies and absences, unfinished homework and excuses to avoid tests or quizzes.

English teacher Michael Smith said that he thinks students lie “daily” about “how they’re feeling, how their home life is going, how they’re doing, how they want to do and where they see themselves.”

“I used to lie quite often actually, probably like once a day or so,” junior Adriana Lopez said. “I made it my New Year ’s resolution to cut down on my lying.”

However, some students don’t want to risk the consequences of being caught in a lie.

“I don’t lie to teachers often,” another anonymous junior said. “I actually get really paranoid if I try to lie.”

“I would say typically most [students that I’ve had in my class] are pretty straightforward,” English teacher Ryan Ikeda said. “I tell them that I’d rather [they] tell the truth than make up stories. … My philosophy is ‘I’m going to be honest with you if you’ll be honest with me.’”

Teachers tell lies in the classroom as well, though it is not as common. It may not be completely accurate to label them as ‘liars,’ because teachers are often not as manipulative or dishonest as their students. Teachers tend to avoid questions or uncomfortable topics rather than lie about something academically related.

“Teachers may feel uncomfortable revealing too much about their personal life,”Adriana said. “They lie just to make the classroom a better environment where the students won’t lose respect for them.”

Both Smith and Ikeda, however, said that they do not lie to students.

“If I’m not comfortable answering a question, I just don’t have a comment,” Smith
said. “There are some things that teachers and students legally cannot discuss and certainly shouldn’t discuss morally or ethically.”

For the most part, dishonesty between students and teachers is made up of white lies or excuses, and they are rarely meant to personally deceive or bring down the other. But when it comes to dishonesty between student and peer, lies become more personal.

“In front of my friends, I’ll lie a lot to provoke a reaction or just see how long I can get them going before they figure it out,” senior Sean Wells said.

However, at the end of the day, the best way to handle a situation is to always tell the truth. A true relationship is measured by how open two people can be with each other.