Competition in the classroom has unfairly been stigmatized by many educators, to the point where many of us absolutely refuse to introduce anything competitive into our school year. Some districts have even cancelled spelling bees, quit naming valedictorians, and stopped announcing honor rolls due to concerns about the possible detrimental affects of such practices. Grade inflation – another way to eliminate competition - runs rampant as well.
Schools that aren’t entirely eliminating competition are trying to make it so everyone wins: “According to the dean of admissions at one California college, some high schools are honoring as many as 50 to 100 ‘valedictorians.’ “
As Michael Crowley pointedly notes, “No more honor rolls, valedictorians, letter grades — how long before schools start to ban simple games like tag? Oh, wait: That happened at a Santa Monica, California, school just a couple of years ago. ‘In this game, there is a ‘victim,’ or ‘It,’ which creates a self-esteem issue,’ the principal explained in a newsletter to parents.”
It’s time for us to move past this extreme fear of competition in our schools, back to a balanced view where healthy competition can be one tool in the teacher’s arsenal. We should teach students how to win and lose gracefully and help them to develop some tenacity to overcome obstacles that appear in their way.
Our students will face losing many times in the real world: a job offer that goes to someone else, a scholarship they don’t win, or a promotion they don’t receive. Will we have the courage to help these future losers to become resilient when faced with adversity? Or, by eliminating competition entirely, will we teach them that losing is something so dreadful that it must be avoided at all costs?
May 22, 2007 at 8:33 am |
Excellent post. This is just so fundamentally absurd I don’t even know how to begin… Banning tag? I mean, c’mon, games like that were half the reason I went to school in first and second grade. Competing academically was the only reason I put in any effort at all until high school — always trying to get the best grade on the next test or assignment, always trying to get it out just a little faster than the next kid. (Of course, high school offered so many other areas of life to enjoy that academic competition took a back seat fairly quickly…)
I’m sorry; I *want* my kids to come home a little upset someday because someone got a better grade, because they came in second place at something instead of first. That’s the only way to appreciate being first; that’s by far the easiest way to motivate yourself to do better, to see what it’s like to “lose” once in a while so you know that “winning” feels a lot better.
Man, that’s just sad.
Excellent post, again.
May 22, 2007 at 8:34 am |
What will happen to my kids self-esteem if they are unprepared for being passed over for a promotion? As a parent, I commend you for being the kind of teacher that prepares students for living a real adult life.
May 24, 2007 at 3:56 pm |
I agree with you. But I would like to say that cooperation and collaboration are important skills that children need to demonstrate. While competition is also important, and should be part of one’s instructional tool kit, it’s worth noting that competition is instinctive for a lot of children; they find cooperation/collaboration much more challenging.
January 22, 2008 at 6:57 pm |
Excellent post. You are right on target. With all the emphasis on rigor and relevance, I can’t think of anything more relevant to real life than competition. Believe me, after my stint in the corporate world, I can assure you these kids will have to compete, regardless of what it does to their self-esteem.
April 2, 2008 at 7:16 pm |
This makes perfect sense and I am glad people can see this – well done!!
Education is about preparing young people for life in the REAL world, not trick them into thinking that real life is easy and that they will never meet hardships and challenges along the way. This helps them measure themselves against their peers and test their limits and capabilities in a safe and controlled environment before they are on their own.
Again, well done!!!
June 2, 2008 at 7:28 pm |
From my work with the Middle School Public Debate Program (www.middleschooldebate.org), I’ve seen many positive effects from competition. First, I think that competition draws students to the event – they like the shiny trophies. Once students are at the event, the competition is a learning experience. We teach students how to respond to competitors gracefully. After the debate round is over, the first thing I do is say “Team X won, but Team Y could have won if ____________ – it was by no means a close round. If Team Y uses these strategies during the next debate, they will see positive results”. Then, I set a timer for 10 minutes and address each debater by name. I give them two pieces of praise followed by a few ways that they can improve during the next round (speak more slowly, write down what the other speakers say and respond to it during your speech, here is how you make an argument, etc). Parents, teachers, and students tell me that they learn a lot from this competitive process.
I spoke about debate in the classroom at a pedagogy conference in Slovenia. There was resistance to competition from many presenters there.