Renee Beck, UWP, wrote

that though cheating as magic seemed the best of the choices given, she wished the answers had included the choice that cheating did represent moral deficiency.

On February 23, 2000, Jeanne answered:

I fully understand your perspective that cheating does represent a moral deficiency, except for the fact that to see it in only that respect prevents our understanding why some people seem so ready to abandon moral deficiency.  Access to alternatives can block success without the student's understanding of the complex context in which this is occurring.  By looking at cheating from the perspective of magic, we are actually listening in good faith to those who are presenting a validity claim that they do not understand the moral alternatives, that those alternatives do not seem to them to be available, and yet they want to achieve the goals before them.

This is a complex issue because whenever alternatives and access are blocked you can be pretty sure there is some privileging of subjectivity involved. It's real easy to miss the privileging, because we have not been taught to see it.  (Peggy McIntosh's article.)

On February 28, 2000, Renee wrote to comment:

Thanks for your input...   It made me really think.

On February 28, 2000, jeanne answered:

Renee, one of my students just wrote that she considered A the "true" answer, and I wrote back to say I'm not sure there is a "true" answer. I was just careful to make the other answers absolutely indefensible so A was the best of the choices given. jeanne Remember, I didn't offer you the choice you wanted, that cheating could be considered morally deficient behavior.