Most students at GBS would say that Spark and Cliffs Notes are good things, that there really is not anything wrong with either of them On the other side, most teachers utterly despise both summaries.

Students and teachers seem to disagree on which is higher in value, the material or the grade.

Other students agree with Peretz, they believe that the school does not have the right to say they cannot use either resource.

Sophomore Jay Lee said, “You can’t call it cheating because it’s a resource available to the students. But if teachers are really against it, they can easily gear the curriculum so that students who use Spark Notes will not do as well as students that actually read the book.”

On the other hand, the summaries lose the author, and a student may not fully experience the novel, they only see the filtered version.

English teacher Cheryl Hope said, “They are the bane of my existence. Here is why: when we read a novel we are interacting with the author. When you read Great Expectations it is you and Dickens. His words are in your head, and how he phrases things, the words he uses, impact you uniquely. As a teacher, I nudge your understanding this way and that, enrich your understanding if I can, but it is your understanding, your experience.”

On one hand the notes are ways to possibly get a passing grade, while on the other hand one will miss the chance to feel what the author wants one to feel.

Hope said, “When you read Spark Notes, you lose Dickens; you lose the author. Don’t kid yourself that you read the book if you read Spark or Cliffs: you did not read the book. Someone else told you what it was about.”

Hope said, “When you read Spark Notes, you lose Dickens; you The teachers hope that students will see the world that the author has created for the readers.

Hope said, “I want them to meet Dickens, Shakespeare, Dangarembga and not some hack writer summarizing art for a few bucks an hour.  I go out of my way to make my classes Cliffs and Spark proof through quizzes and discussions.”

In that way, Hope is able to figure out when a student is not reading the novel. She believes that the student loses the “first-hand connection”.

Some students look at Spark and Cliffs Notes in a different way.

Sophomore Alyssa Bardales said, “Spark Notes can get you on the right track if you can’t find something in the book.”

Spark Notes is just like using the encyclopedia,” said sophomore Charles Wu.

As for consequences for getting caught, one will lose the educational experience and do the opposite of what is intended, he or she will receive low quiz and test scores.  Not only that, the trust between a student and teacher can be broken.

Using the either resource is considered academic dishonesty by some teachers, which will result in the teacher telling their instructional supervisor of the infringement on school rules, an “F” for the assignment, the teacher informing the student of further consequences, the student’s completion of a referral form that would go to the student, the student’s parents, the student’s counselor, and the dean of students; and finally a telephone call to the parents about the infringement and the penalty and appeal procedure pertaining to the situation.

Mike Anderson, assistant news editor