There is no one answer that explains why kids cheat. Sometimes it is just laziness and irresponsibility and sometimes it is the pressure that the establishment pushes on all kids. When you refer to the cheating of the below-average, sub-intelligent students, then cheating probably occurs because of laziness.

"Oh, I didn't finish my homework today because I was so busy," says a below-C level student. Busy doing what? Would it be too hard to cut out a few hours of your busy schedule of watching TV, talking on the phone, and sleeping to do a little homework? It's laughable when these kids get their tests back and they are actually surprised by their low grades. Big surprise.

On the other hand, what about the créme de la créme of the class? Why do they cheat? They are definitely capable of doing their own work, but who has the time, right? Usually the smarter you are the busier you are, and not necessarily busy with the schoolwork. When you're smart, you think ahead. You'll know that colleges don't look for just academics, but sports, extracurricular activities, and community service. If you don't have any, then you're screwed. It doesn't matter how many hours you put into studying because if you're just book smart you're considered nothing. Taking into account the time left for an occupied student, after school, sports, and clubs, there is only so much time to do all the homework assigned for that day and any studying for the next day. Aren't these times suppose to be the years we're suppose to look back on and cherish?

Society stresses education and intelligence, but please explain why most colleges offer only sports scholarships, and why even the most esteemed colleges will overlook grades for that football player, or that soccer player? It's because all of society is hypocritical. If we complain to teachers about our homework they tell us how many papers they have to grade. But do they have deadlines - does their job even require thought? Are they being graded or tested on the subject? How can they make a comparison when they're not even related to what the student have to go through? When you become an adult, do you just forget what it was like to be a teenager?

Advantages. Quite frankly, the dumb kids don't stand a chance. They can do all the pretending by attempting homework or studying, but they'll still fail. At least they got those extra TV hours in. The smart kids that cheat do have an advantage. All the time not put into homework goes into another subject or study time for another test. And when you pass that test, you can study for another subject's test and copy another subject's homework for tomorrow. You can't lose, except for the pride issue.

Say you get into a great college after years of cheating - did you earn it? You can't look back and say I accomplished this, this was my achievement. What about the hard workers you crushed along the way, that didn't make it because your rank was higher than theirs? The admission into that great college isn't yours, but it belongs to every kid you copied from frosh to senior year. Doesn't feel so good anymore, does it? Or do you not care? Have you become so pathetic that your life revolves around your grades so much that an 'A' is all that matters? Has the pressure gotten to you so that it doesn't matter who gets caught under you, as long you succeed? For some kids, cheating is inescapable and the only way to survive high school, but for those who can stand up and live a virtuous four years of high school are truly brave students.