After reading many of my peers’ blogs, I agreed with the majority’s opinion that participation medals are bad because they lower the value of accomplishment trophies. However, after reading specifically Eric Priceman’s input of the “Should Every Young Athlete Get a Trophy?” I had a change of thought.
Priceman has three children who have received participation awards and were told that they should be treated the same as a winning trophy. Nonetheless, he was able to tell that they knew the difference between participation awards and accomplishment rewards. Participation awards are by no means a substitute for accomplishment awards, but they are a nice way to reward the effort that everyone put in. I think most people, if not everyone, realizes that a trophy given to a winning team means more than a participation trophy, but I'm sure it would still encourage more people to join a sport, or stay in a sport after losing than if solely winners were awarded.
In conclusion, I think awarding everyone is a nice way to encourage participation given that most competitive people still recognize that an accomplishment trophy is more valuable than one given to the masses.
-Hunter Wood
After reading your post, it changed my view on participation awards. I used to think that they were just trying to make losers feel like they accomplished just as much as the winner did in a child's eyes. Now I see how it can help the receiver of a participation award because it may encourage them to join a sport or stay and excel in a sport.
ReplyDeleteI've agreed with this idea that participation trophies don't necessarily have to have the same level of accomplishment as maybe another trophy may have but it may be that bump a child needs to help them continue along the path of playing that sport. However when participation trophies become sort of pity awards however I disagree with that wholeheartedly and I think it could be more like a sportsmanship award.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to find someone who shares the same opinion as I do. Previously I commented on another peers post exemplifying why I thought that participation trophies aren't as bad as people make them to be. In a way they are beneficial to children, because it demonstrates that devotion can be rewarded. Once children see that their hard work can be rewarded it is most probable that they will continue to strive with passion in hopes of receiving a greater reward, that doesn't necessarily have to be a trophy.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that participation awards should be given out to athletes that tried, but didn't necessarily win. However, the children that receive these awards should know that this is NOT a winning trophy. They should be taught the difference between winning and participation. I know from personal experience that getting a participation trophy feels way better than nothing. It also encourages me to play again.
ReplyDelete-Eileen Hernandez
I agree that participation trophies aren't bad or decrease competitive nature in kids. Growing up playing sports all my life I distinctly knew the difference between a participation trophy that the whole team gets and accomplishment trophies. I knew what we as a team accomplished by knowing our record, therefore I didn't need a trophy to tell me that my team was number 1. Also what kid isn't going to want a nice, shiny gold trophy that congratulates their effort and participation? For kids there's more harm done by not giving them participation trophies because they'll think no matter their effort they're still not good enough. We should enable and encourage kids to thoroughly enjoy sports instead of turning it into an overly intense competition, they have many years to experience that in high school sports.
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