>
> any tips on how to say this in a way that gets parents to
> support you?

First, I'd say let's recognize to ourselves and to them as
well that if a student cheats, it at least means they still
want to do well in school. I have students who wouldn't
bother to cheat - they don't care enough to cheat.

So there's good news - the cheater cares about his grades -
and enough to take a bit of a risk.

Next - is this a kid who always cheats, sometimes cheats or
never cheated before to your knowledge? That makes a HUGE
difference and to not acknowledge that is a mistake for the
kid as well as for getting along with the parents.

Most of the time we lump all cheaters together - no one likes
to have themselves or their child lumped in with habitual
criminals.... even the judge in court takes note of whether
we're a 'one time offender'.

And then - what do you want to accomplish? What's your top
priority? You want the parents to be on your side? You wnat
them to throw the kid from a ledge as a gesture of support?
You want them to let you throw the kid from a ledge?

I understand that you want their support but for what
exactly? Whatever it is, start by saying that Tommy did......
but a. he does this all the time b. he's never done this
before c. only does this when something is up - what might
that be, Mrs. Smith?

Why he cheated is important and rarely do we talk about that
again upsetting parents. Our discussions need to be results -
based - what result do we want to achieve with the kid? If
he's one time cheater, something got away from it. If he's a
habitual cheater, he should be tested - there's something
going on with him.

Don't create more problems - make it clear to the parents
that you want to solve this problem as it is something that
will land in very hot water down the road so let's, Mrs.
Smith, figure out why this happened and what we can do to
help Tommy understand why it shouldn't happen again.

Saying that works. Don't play the blame game, fix the
problem, don't try to fix the blame because that accomplishes
nothing but to waste your time and theirs.
Good luck.

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