If you saw your friend cheating on a math test by reading out of the math book and then reported her to the teacher should you also be considered a cheater for looking back at her and catching her?

Answer 1

Absolutely not, though it is difficult to judge from the teacher's point of view who was cheating and who was not. When you report her, it is possible you may have been cheating all along (or even just a little) before you did the reporting. Thus it is a question of why you may have reported her and possibly not yourself (if you had cheated), which is impossible to determine, and which most teachers will inevitably try to, as it is their job to do, either through intense inquiry or outright blame.

The best course of action in this, and pretty much any scenario in which you might get in trouble, is to think a little bit about what your teacher may say or do, as a result of what you are thinking about doing. Think ahead to what he or she's reaction may be, based on your future actions. Also consider what everyone else is doing - sometimes it is good to follow the crowd. That way you can simply keep working on your test, without looking back at your friend, just like the others in the classroom are probably doing, and not be blamed for reporting what any good teacher should be good enough to notice on their own. After all, even if she is your friend, it is not your ultimate duty to realize the cheating or to report it, especially since nobody else is realizing it or reporting it.