“Mr. Miller, calling it cheating is premature. Could I please see Leon’s exam papers from this time?” The papers were right there, and Mr. Miller handed them to me.
I flipped through each paper. There were seven subjects in total. His liberal arts scores were excellent—high marks in English, History, Geography—while his Math, Physics, and Chemistry scores were just barely passing. I asked Mr. Miller for the previous exam’s score report. He pulled it up on the computer, and I glanced at it, getting a general idea.
I gathered the papers and said to Mr. Miller, “Mr. Miller, looking at these papers, I don’t see any evidence he cheated.”
Leon, who hadn’t expected me to side with him, instinctively started to retort but then realized what I’d said. His mouth hung open, and his face flushed red.
Ignoring him, I continued addressing Mr. Miller: “You can compare his previous scores with these. The subjects he’s weak in are still weak. I don’t think he’s smart enough to have faked that consistently.”
Mr. Miller looked at the papers and the computer screen, pondered for a moment, and said, “But another student reported him for cheating.”
I asked further, “Was the report made during the exam itself, or after the results came out? Did the student claim Leon copied his answers? Did you compare their papers?”
A flicker of discomfort crossed Mr. Miller’s face as he admitted reluctantly, “The report came after the results. The student said Leon’s score was unreasonable.”
I understood. “So, he didn’t actually see Leon cheating; he just thought Leon’s score was too good and reported him, and you believed it? That he sleeps in class…” I smiled, interrupting myself, “You know that’s not evidence. His sleeping in class and his grade improvement aren’t absolute contradictions. He could have been studying hard privately. Shouldn’t we consider that possibility?”
Mr. Miller was just a young man a few years out of college. His initial certainty was long gone, and he stammered, unable to form a rebuttal. I had no intention of making things difficult for him, so I laid down my conclusion: “Mr. Miller, I don’t think Leon cheated. Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding on the other student’s part. I hope you can clarify this for him in front of the whole class, okay?”
The homeroom teacher was persuaded and agreed to clear Leon’s name. I thanked him, praising him as a good teacher. A bit embarrassed by my compliment, Mr. Miller took Leon back to the classroom. It was almost time for the last class of the day. Mr. Miller took three minutes to make the clarification for Leon. The students buzzed with discussion, but Mr. Miller, being quite responsible, specifically talked about the harms of spreading rumors and told the students to watch their words. The classroom fell silent.
From the moment I started speaking for him, Leon hadn’t said a word, his head lowered in thought. When the three minutes were up, Mr. Miller left, handing the class over to the next teacher. I smiled and nodded at Leon, then turned and left.
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