Busted!

First off, let me say that I am no saint and even though teachers are expected to be perfect, I am definitely imperfect. When I was in school, I cheated. A lot. I was so good at cheating that I never got caught. This may be a bold statement, but I was so good at cheating that books could have been devoted to the craft my friends and I executed. That being said, let me say that in hindsight that it was a bad decision. Cheating didn't help me master my coursework and I continued to fall behind in some classes.
:::"The More You Know" logo flies overhead.:::

Now that I'm an educator, it's part of my job not only to catch cheating, but also to prevent cheating before it begins. Much to the chagrin of my students, I'm quite adept at catching it. Good teachers can feel it. The quick eye contacts with the teacher, the hazy "I was just looking over there" look, and the various nervous ticks are all dead giveaways that something's afoot.

During a test today, a student exhibited not one but all THREE warnings. I continued to watch him until I noticed some quick hand movements underneath his desk. "Oh God," I mumbled. "This kid is masturbating underneath his desk!" (True Story: Unfortunately, I have witnessed a student with his hands in the land down under in class. AWKWARD.) I went to his desk and asked him to hand over what he was shuffling underneath his desk. He forked over several note cards (presumably study materials) and I confiscated his test. At the end of class, the student approached me and congratulated me on catching him. He told me that I was the first person to catch him. I replied, "Well it was pretty easy, Maverick. The way you were shuffling those cards down there would have gotten a blind man's attention." He laughed and left. I laughed, too. Poor kid. I hope I taught him a lesson: try harder...whether it be in your studies or in your abilities as a cheater.