Though rising cheating rates in schools have signaled for a decade that the hole in our moral ozone is getting bigger, the media seem to have just discovered that there's a problem. But the new hook they've seized upon concerns the use of high-tech tools from the Internet to cell phones.

This drives me crazy because the more we focus on all the clever ways youngsters can cheat, the more likely we are to ignore the fact that the biggest single factor in escalating academic dishonesty is the failure of parents and teachers to diligently teach, enforce, advocate and model personal integrity. It's the adults, not the kids, who have the greatest responsibility to create an ethical culture that nurtures the virtues of honor, honesty and fairness.

One part of that responsibility is to demonstrate a commitment to the integrity of exams and grades. Thus, we can solve the problem of high-tech exam cheating by old-fashioned low-tech methods: Don't let students bring anything into the exam room that isn't essential to the test! And if calculators are really necessary, adopt a procedure that assures that students empty the device of any improper information.

There are many well-established procedures that eliminate or reduce cheating, such as having alternative forms of exams, not giving the same test at different times in the day, and assuring that the exam is proctored by an attentive adult who continuously walks among the test takers.

What message do you think schools send when these simple procedures are ignored?
The truth is we will never solve the cheating problem until those who have the opportunity to instill values and shape attitudes of young people engage in thoughtful, systematic and comprehensive efforts to promote integrity and prevent cheating.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

Years ago, a Southern woman was in one of my workshops. When asked to tell a story that impacted her character, she described an incident when she was 5. She was at her grandfather’s house all dressed up in a white dress with a crinoline and new gloves, proud as she could be.

Her granddaddy told her she could go into the kitchen and get herself a cookie. Next to the cookies was a stack of quarters. Sure that no one was looking, she took one of the quarters, too.

When she returned with her cookie, her granddaddy asked her to show him her gloves. She held out only her left hand, and he said, “Show me the other hand.” When she reluctantly did so, revealing the quarter, she saw disappointment in her grandpa’s eyes.

He paused a moment and then “hugged me up,” saying, “Darlin’, you can have anything in the world that I have, but it breaks my heart that you’d ever steal it.” Some 50 years later, this story of how her granddaddy gave her the gift of conscience still brought tears to her eyes.

Few things have as large an impact on shaping the values of a child as the sting of lovingly administered shame. It helps define right from wrong and gives a powerful emotional dimension to issues of ethics and character.

Kids, and adults for that matter, learn from their mistakes. Parents, teachers, and coworkers can hold others accountable and remind them of their moral obligations without humiliating or condemning them.

What we can’t do is just let transgressions go, unless we want to send the message that it’s okay. What we allow, we encourage. And we should never encourage anything other than moral excellence.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

Most Americans say they’re religious and their beliefs are important to their lives, yet I’m astonished at how many blatantly ignore the moral expectations intrinsic to their religion.

Religion isn’t about only worship and ritual; it teaches believers how to live. Thus, the holy books of every major religion are filled with precepts and principles about honesty, justice, fidelity, compassion, and charity that leave no doubt about the role ethics and personal virtue should play in our daily lives at home and at work.

In his fine book The Business Bible: 10 New Commandments for Bringing Spirituality & Ethical Values into the Workplace, Rabbi Wayne Dosick tells of a soapmaker who challenged a rabbi: “What good is religion? It teaches honesty, but most people are dishonest.”

The rabbi answered, “My dear soapmaker, religion – like soap – only works when you use it.”

The ancient truths and enduring values embodied in traditional religions are more than guidelines or suggestions about how to behave. To those who profess religious belief, moral and ethical behavior isn’t an option. It’s a mandate.

To practice religious rituals and claim reverent identity without scrupulous concern for the moral teachings of one’s faith is like going to a fine restaurant and eating the menu rather than the food.

It’s also blatant hypocrisy. Integrity is about wholeness, the unity of beliefs, words, and actions. I’m not saying you have to be devout to be ethical. I’m saying if religion is important to you, so is ethics.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

A hit number in the 1960 play Bye Bye Birdie began with a classic parent’s lament: “I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today. Why can’t they be like we were?”

The answer, of course, is they’re just like we were. Sometimes that’s good, often it’s not. Every generation of kids coping with raging hormones and a need to express independence and individuality will use language, wear clothes, listen to music, and dance in ways that may offend their parents. Many will engage in conduct that their parents think is wrong or unwise.

Should modern parents just relax and let kids do their thing, confident that no lasting harm will come of it? I don’t think so.

Sure, we should recognize the inherent limitations of parenting and the futility and impropriety of trying to control every phase of our children’s lives, but that doesn’t justify passive or permissive parenting. Although we can’t control our kids, we can influence them. And when necessary, we can confine their options by saying no and backing it up with whatever tools we have.

Parents may disagree on where to draw the line when it comes to sloppy or sexy clothing, Internet use, loud music with crude lyrics, and body piercing and tattoos, but lines must be drawn somewhere and enforced. This is particularly important regarding issues about alcohol, drugs, and sex. Kids need and deserve guidance and boundaries.

Our children won’t necessarily accept our views of right and wrong, but if we state them clearly and continually, they’re more likely to consider them.

What do you think?

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, two-thirds of the world’s population, including almost everyone in the Continental United States and Europe, no longer see a starry sky where they live.

The reason: City lights prevent us from seeing much more than a canopy of gray shadows. What a pity. In rural or remote areas with little or no artificial lights, about 2,000 stars can be seen on a clear night, and the experience can be breathtaking.

Whether we credit God or physics, how can we avoid the conclusion that our cosmos is governed by forces that dwarf anything our simple species can muster? How can we not feel like transitory snowflakes in a universe that measures time in billions of years and space in trillions of miles?

At the same time, a star-filled sky can be both empowering and inspiring. It can cause us to ponder the meaning and purpose of our lives and has ignited the imagination of poets, philosophers, theologians, and scientists for centuries.

It’s bad enough that the technology of contemporary civilization prevents us from seeing the extraterrestrial stars. It’s worse when we allow the shallow values and frenetic pace of modern society to prevent us from seeing and following the aspirations and principles that are our own internal guiding stars.

Every day we’re challenged to rise above petty office politics, senseless family conflicts, negative emotions, and unbridled ego so we can live our lives large and be worthy of our place in the universe.

We may not be able to see the stars by looking up, but if we close our eyes and look inward, we can find and follow the best within us.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.