Is cheating the same as cheating?

I teach a Philosophy and Ethics course to high school seniors. I like to start the semester with an exploration of ethical issues commonly faced in a school environment, which naturally centers on cheating. I ask my students if classroom cheating is essentially the same thing as relationship cheating, or are we just using the same word to describe two essentially different issues. Most of these young adults contend that the two issues are seperate, that everyone cheats in school but everyone does not grow up to be an adulterer. But some suggest that the principle of "once a cheater, always a cheater" applies here and they would avoid a relationship with a classroom cheater on those grounds. These are always interesting discussions, but they are naturally limited to the perspectives of young people who probably have not had the life experience necessary to make them particularly valid. And as I have never been in a relationship that included cheating (that I know of), I'm not much help with my supposedly adult point of view. I'm hoping my request is not offensive, but I thought that the perspectives of people who have lived through infidelity issues might help me manage future discussions. Do you think that Lance Armstrong is more likely to be a relationship cheater because he is a cycling cheater? If so, how do you explain adultery by men and women who (appear at least) lead otherwise exemplary moral lives? Moderators, if this thread is inappropriate, please delete ASAP. I will understand.

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