As I was scrolling through something good to blog about, nothing was really catching my attention. A couple articles later, I came across one titled, Should Every Young Athlete Get A Trophy? This peaked my interest because I have been playing sports for a very long time, and have noticed this ongoing trend. Although a team loses, or doesn't make the playoffs, they still receive a trophy. But how does this trophy mentally affect the kids? Some argue that this helps kids' self-esteem after a lost, while others say that it is debilitating a kids capacity to know what a loss is and how to deal with it. Personally, I think that not everyone deserves what people are calling participation trophies. I feel that trophies are rewards, and should be treated as such by only providing them to those who earned them, the winners. Giving kids trophies for losing, or as many put it, participating, is giving off the wrong idea to these kids. It will definitely hinder them in real life like at school or later on at work. They may not comprehend what losing really is like, and in turn, won't feel the pressure to succeed if they think they will still be rewarded with a loss.
-Albert Aguilar
I am completely with you on this, I believe that kids that get what they call participation awards or trophies is not right. They should be able to learn how it feels to lose when they are young so they are not completely overwhelmed when it happens later on in life. I'm not saying that a kid shouldn't win, but I just mean that if a kid loses, don't try to make up for it, let them feel what it is like so they can use that to move forward.
ReplyDeletePosted for Jasmine Sohal: Yes! I think that giving children rewards for losing makes them less committed to the sport they are playing. I also believe that giving out trophies for simply showing up decreases the value of the trophy a winner gets. The value of a trophy diminishes every time it is given out pointlessly. Sure, it may increase the confidence of a child, but it also makes them less likely to strive for the trophy of a winner. It makes the lazy in the sense of winning. As mentioned by Leo Roth, losing helps a child prepare for the future, so that when they lose in something later on, they will know how to handle it. When that child grows up, they won't receive rewards for just showing up, or completing a task. The sooner they learn, the easier it will be for them to accept defeat.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that not everyone should get a trophy because it should be seen as a reward that you worked hard for and earned. If everyone gets a trophy then that defeats the whole purpose. If everyone is rewarded then it won't make anyone work hard because they'll just think "oh I get a trophy either way." Therefore kids should experience what lost without reward feels like so they push harder to reach their goal of winning a trophy.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your points about hindering children's abilities to deal with loss and that trophies are to be a special award that is earned, not given. Trophies are meant to represent accomplishment though hard work and one's talent and by giving these to the players that lost, devoid the trophies of their meaning. Giving only the winners a trophy gives meaning to it, a recognition of accomplishment though dedication, grit, and skill. By experiencing losses early in life can help deal with events similar to that in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you have said, from the point that if you give a child a participation trophy it won't teach them how to deal with a loss, to you saying it won't push them to work harder in the future if they know they will still be rewarded with a trophy regardless. I believe that the only people that should get trophies are first, second, and third. Trophies should be given to the athletes would truly pushed themselves to get the gold, silver, or even bronze. Everyone else should strive to do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, if a athlete that loses still receives a trophy it will take away the want to win. Giving the loser a trophy makes it seem alright for them to keep losing. However, if you don't give them a trophy it will bring up their competitive spirit to win that big first place prize. So keep the competitive spirit in the game and allow kids to be hungry and work harder in order to be rewarded for it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, I think it has a lot to do with self esteem and making everyone feel included. But in the real world there wont be a participation trophy, so whats the point? Kids are being given this false sense of hope that no matter what happens they will be rewarded instead of experiencing failure and learning to work hard for what they want.
ReplyDelete-Kayla Abdur-Rahim