Competition: Good or bad?
Are we trying to eliminate competition form our school system? And if so, is this a bad or a good thing? From my point of view, our school system has set a standard that it wants to get rid of competition in our schools, especially at the elementary level. I cannot tell you how many times I was told to avoid putting students in situations where there will be a winner and a loser. It’s not just physical education either. I have friends in the classroom at all age groups and they, too, have been told to be careful about putting students in competitive situations. I don’t agree with this idea. I support a learning environment that is supportive, safe, and conducive to learning, but I don’t think competition needs to be eliminated to provide this type of setting. Whether or not we protect our youth from competition, it is something they will have to deal with in the real world every day.
posted by crowc at 8:32 PM
9 Comments:
My wife’s nephew, Kevin, has a tough time playing board games, because he can’t loose. Most of this comes from the fact that many people that play games with him allow him to win. He also has a hard time when he doesn’t get what he wants. I believe he struggles with disappointment. Kevin does not loose many games and therefore, is used to getting what he wants. Many students today have a tough time dealing with disappointment. This may be due to the fact, that many competitive situations have been removed from their lives. They no longer learn what it is like to loose or to even be a good looser. I am a competitive person, and I support competition in schools, as long as it used in a constructive manner.
I believe competition plays a pivotal role in growing up. You learn sportsmanship along with disappointment and humility. As we grow we must learn how to work with others to accomplish a common goal within a group. Students will be competing their entire lives in some aspect or another. School is a great opportunity to learn about competition in a constructive manner.
It infuriates me when I hear about schools and community recreation associations that have decided to not keep score because it is bad for the "loser's" self-esteem. To me, this means that they are creating a generation of students with hearty self-esteems and fragile egos. Both of these personality elements are essential to development, but they must be in balance for a person to develop into an emotionally healthy adult.
When I was a kid, I experienced competition in the form of competitive sports and academic competitions. Through this experience, I learned something about myself...I can't stand competition because I don't like the person I become when I compete. It was drilled into me that winning is everything by my father, and my mother emphasized being a gracious winner/loser. Pretty confusing messages for a little kid, but I managed to actually learn something from that. It is important for students to experience competitive situations so later they can put two and two together and figure out if they can handle competition or not, and if not how to cope with that.
Education doesn't just fill students with ideas and concepts about external subjects. It should also teach students how to reflect on themselves and relate their learning to their own lives so that they can become better citizens through their educational experiences. I believe that competition can and does play a key role in that development.
GOOD TOPIC…I agree with the previous statements concerning competition; however, the way we (educators, coaches, parents, etc) present competition needs to be address. How many times have you read a story in the news about coaches or parents “pushing” their players too far? I think as a society we must look at how we are communicating. People can have the best of intentions, but with poor communication skills, their ideas and teachings are lost. Along with the communication, learning how to lose is very important. Too many times, adolescents are worried about the outcome and don’t care about how they get there. As a parent, educator, and coach, I have always taught that if you prepare correctly, then the outcome will be positive (not always a win or an A+, but always positive experience).
Yes, this is a good topic. I agree with much of what has been stated, especially Paul’s remarks about how we, as adults, address competition with kids. There seems to be a certain amount of political correctness that seeps into every aspect of education. Competition isn’t immune to this. But I wonder if this notion that competition is “unhealthy” is a result of the intensity of competition children face in other areas of their lives. In our community, it is a rarity to find a child who hasn’t been or isn’t currently involved in club sports. Talk about competition! I can make this statement based on my own child’s experiences. Fortunately, she has had few coaches over the years who have gone over the top (at least on a regular basis) about the need to win.
I do believe that children should learn to balance what it means to have a “competitive spirit” versus having a “winning is everything” attitude that society seems to embrace. It’s not enough for a team to be good enough to make it to the Super Bowl. If the team doesn’t win the big game, it is perceived as a loser (albeit, the top loser). Second best doesn’t make it in America – at least that is the message our kids get from the media, professional sports, college sports, clubs, and, yes, even in high school.
Nevertheless, our kids are living in a competitive world. School should be an environment where young people learn what it means to compete. Adults, however, must help kids learn to put competition in perspective. Do we teach kids the message that winning is all that matters or can we teach children to learn from the experience of competing and to enjoy the competition itself?
Competition in schools and in the classroom is a necessary and vital component, for competition extends well beyond the classroom and into life. I do not currently teach any of the single-gender classes that AHS offers, but I have spoken to a number of teachers who do teach it and they have consistently said that competition is a key element in their all boys class. When put into a competitive situation, they say that most of their students thrive and get excited about learning, regardless of the content. Moreover, in the “real world,” students will encounter competition no matter what they do, for it is a big part of our culture and the basis of our government and economic system. Without competition, democracy and capitalism would not be successful and things like professional sports would not be as popular as it is.
Having said this, I feel it is our duty as teachers to demonstrate to our students how to be good winners and losers and to explain that losing isn’t always bad if we can take something away from the situation and learn from it when we encounter the situation in the future. I agree with Tracy that there is a big difference between healthy competition and the need to win everything at all cost, and we must help students learn to decipher between the two. This argument brings up another point; do Tony Winger’s thoughts about grades and alternative grading system remove the competitive element from grades?
Overall, our job as teachers is to begin preparing our students for the future, and if the competitive nature taken out of schools, me must ask ourselves if we are operating in our student’s best interests.
I do think that competition can be an effective teaching tool. Some students are more engaged in a lesson or activity if there is an element of competition to it. That said, though, I think that the focus needs to be on the education and learning of each student and how to best meet their needs. If competition is effective for those students or that class, than go for it. If not, find another way to more effectively reach the students.
CJ, you bring up a very good point. Competition is so important with everything we do. We compete for grades, jobs, and for athletics. Kids and parents (especially) need to understand that their son or daughter may not be suited for all activities. Getting cut from a team should help someone focus on what they are good at. Exposing kids to healthy competition is something we should embrace, not eliminate.
CJ, Great topic. There was a time when failure was considered to be a great teacher. Now, it seems we spend more time avoiding the lessons of failue. I think that is too bad. It if funny, I am not a competitive person. I am actually competitive about not being competitive. I do not value competition for the sake of competition, but I do value the lessons that come from these kind of situations.
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