Ethical dunces.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES wrap up

A FEW WEEKS BACK, IN APRIL, THE COLORADO Ethics in Business Alliance (CEBA), of which ColoradoBiz magazine is a co-founder, held its 21st Annual Awards Luncheon honoring Colorado companies, nonprofit organizations and individuals for high ethical standards and practices. When we first came up with the concept, way back in 1990, it was in response to the then-raging Savings and Loan scandal and, of course, in the ensuing years--and in spite or our best efforts to illustrate that you could do well by doing good--there have been tons of further ethical breaches throughout the state and, indeed, the nation.

The very latest was the indictment of 35 school administrators and teachers in the Atlanta Public Schools on charges of racketeering, theft by taking and making false statements in connection with cheating on lest scores for standardized tests that students are required to take. It goes without saying that I lie reason for the cheating is that educators can and do receive financial bonuses and other professional perks for improving test scores, and these reprehensible actions have been discovered in scores of school districts throughout the country, including Denver.

It's disgusting, plain and simple. But not altogether surprising.

When I was a kid, one of the platitudes they taught us in school, at home and in church is that. "Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat;" but what you learn if you live long enough--say, to 8th grade is that cheaters often win, and winners often cheat. I mean, c'mon, in spite of a few PR hassles and wrist slaps. I don't see guys like Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds and Joe Nacchio in bread lines and they are simply among the few who (A) got caught, and 11 were high profile enough to get at least some punishment. There are plenty of other cheats cycling, swinging and board-rooming around in relative luxury to justify, at least for some, the inherent risks, such as the are.

Clearly, however, the list of temptations is huge and often tries even the best of us. We are, after all, human and, therefore, flawed.

So we do our best. We try and catch the wrongdoers and punish them, and. we strive to illuminate the good-deed-doers, and hold both camps out as examples or the risks and rewards. It's a tough business.

But in these educator-cheating scandals...