In class today, we watched a video clip about today's youth sports, and how everyone is treated as a "winner" and given a trophy, to make every child feel special. While this is meant to increase children's self-esteem, psychologists say that it simply lowers standards, as these children can receive a trophy simply for showing up, not for putting in effort or improving skills. These children learn that they can and should receive a reward for this incredibly minimal amount of effort, and lose the incentive to work hard. Later in life, these are the college students who believe that they should get a B just for going to class, and the job applicants who believe that they deserve the job solely because they came to the interview.
While this has made children lose their incentive to work and has essentially backfired, one can say that it simply didn't work. If the plan is to make everyone feel special, and everyone receives the same reward, then no one is really special. It defeats its own purpose and does not really make anyone special. Part of the meaning of being "special" is being different, and by giving trophies to everyone, this method cannot ever attain this goal.
You bring up a really interesting aspect: it's impossible to be special if everyone gets the same reward. Is there any way to balance the two ideas? How could we make it clear to a child that they are special and important, but still need to strive to get better and are not entitled to anything?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point, I believe that everyone is special but you just need to find your passion. Not everyone is meant to be a star athlete and not everyone deserves the same rewards.
ReplyDeleteIn my english class, someone did their senior project on this and it brought up your points, as long as some new ones. He interviewed a little league baseball coach who agreed that giving participation trophies to older kids was stupid because it made them feel as if they only did this amount of work, they were labeled a winner. The coach believed that when you're younger, you need the pat-on-the-back trophy to boost self esteem, but as you grow older you need to know that you need to work hard and see that your hard work pays off. I completely agree with your points.
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