to be or not to be.........honest

Several weeks ago I was in an accident on the freeway.  It was not a serious accident, only a minor fender bender.  I was the last in line of a 3 car rear-ender.  The damage to my truck was minor but the repair estimate was $500.00.  Not a great amount but an amount no one wants to cough up for something they did not cause.  My insurance said that since the damage was less than my deductable I would have to pay.  I said someone hit me.  I did not hit them.  Well, the response was, you will have to go after the other insurance company.  My big mistake was that I was honest.  Was anyone hurt they ask?  I said no, it was just a minor poke in the butt.  Had I been dishonest and complained about a sore neck I may have been able to collect enough to pay for my truck repairs.  Good old honest Grizz may have to pay his own repairs.
This week our writing instructor informed us that our class has been canceled.....again.  It had already been canceled by the school because we didn't have the requird amount of students in the class.  The instructor offered to continue the class and the members could donate a little money if they wanted to.  It was in no way mandatory.  We agreed to pay $5.00 a week so the instructor would not lose any money.  This worked out fine until the school admin said it was illegal and that our instructor could not continue the class.  This story also goes back to the issue of honesty.  At the beginning of the class we knew we were short of students and it was suggested we enroll our spouses, neighbors or anyone else we could get to put on the records.  The class was free, so we would not be cheating the school out of money but the instructor said no because it wasn't honest.  We were honest and the class was canceled and the instructor was not allowed to continue per an agreement with her students.
Two instances of honesty resulted in a loss of money and a writing class.  Should we or I have cheated?  Does our society encourage cheating?  I say no to the first question.  Some times I feel as if my honesty is the only thing I have.  The loss of the money won't break me and I will enroll in another writing class next semester.  What the hey, I always have blogging.
However, I do believe that our society does encourage cheating, expecially on insurance matters.  It seems most people believe that if they don't cheat they won't get a fair deal.  They may be right.  I do not know.  I do know that how I feel about myself is more important that money or a writing class.