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The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Ring
Winning isn't everything. In fact, at some schools, it doesn't even exist. As schools incorporate social and emotional learning into their curricula, some have de-emphasized or outright eliminated competition for fear that it harms students' self-esteem.
At Plainview Community Middle School, in Plainview, Indiana, any student who wants to be part of any extracurricular group is immediately accepted, as all fifty-six members of the wrestling team will tell you. Other schools have done away with aggressive gym games such as dodgeball or have eliminated the highly coveted honors of valedictorian and salutatorian. But opponents to these kinds of actions believe healthy competition teaches kids important lessons about goals and teamwork and helps prepare them for the struggles they'll face in college and beyond. Is competition demoralizing, or desirable, for today's students? Tell us what you think!
Competition
Submitted by frank martiin (not verified) on May 29, 2008 - 07:20.
I suggest reading Alfie Kohns book on the subject. Educators would benefit if they read all of Alfie Kohns books.
Competition
Submitted by Anthony Molock (not verified) on February 1, 2008 - 13:35.
Competitions is a very valuable tool in teaching children how to accept defeat as well as victory. Competition is a part of just about every aspect of our daily lives. If we shield children from it now, how will they respond to it in the real world?
Kindergarten Competition
Submitted by Tammy Callis (not verified) on January 22, 2008 - 16:49.
I am a kindergarten teacher and I use a lot of competiton in my classroom. I do not name winners. Everyone who participates wins.
My favorite use of competition is a phonics games that I created-"Beat the Teacher." The kids love to win and so do I! The teacher says a phonics sound and names a word that starts with the sound-example /a/ apple and ape. The students write the letter that makes the sound and stand up before I write it on the board. It is a very quiet game and they get so excited over a phonics lesson!
I also play phonics board games and Candy Land, and memory in class during learning centers. Did you know a lot of five year old children have never played a board game and do not know how to say "good game"?
Everyone that plays a game in my class is taught good playing manners and how to be a good sport.
Some days I get so busy trying to get in the standards-I forget the games. The children never forget. They remind me every day to get the games out and let them play.
How many concepts am I teaching?
Counting, taking turns, winning am not being unkind, losing and knowing sometimes it is ok to lose, waiting your turn, polite conversation, number recognition, sound recognition, the importance of reading, games are fun and learning can be fun, and colors.
Tammy
Competition and the big, bad "Real World"
Submitted by Jake (not verified) on January 18, 2008 - 10:38.
Education should prepare students to thrive in the real world. The real world is competitive. Stop pretending everyone wins and everyone can expect equality in every facet of life. Competition exists. Period. Prepare to deal with it.
Competition in schools
Submitted by Chuck (not verified) on January 17, 2008 - 13:57.
Affirm - Please read Alfie Kohn on the subject!
Replace competition with expectation, the expectation that an individual can learn to enjoy learning for learning's sake. That's how we are born and remain until such time as the system of education replaces learning with a "Win-Lose" paradigm.
Also note, the phrase "Healthy Competition" is an oxymoron. Competition creates stress which compels the body's organs to produce cortisol. Up to a point this is normal and necessary for survival and daily functioning - it's a good thing to step out of the path of the bus.
But repeated demands to produce cortisol in response to competitive stress results in that lingering long term killer called heart disease. The fact that cortisol is attacking the heart muscle is not discovered until the autopsey is performed.
Competition
Submitted by Jake (not verified) on January 21, 2008 - 13:34.
Wow. Lots of different views about competition. I do believe that some competition is very detrimental to self-esteem. I also believe in realistic goals and challenges. I think that teaching competition is really dependent on who's teaching it, and how. I believe that some competition is necessary and vital to development. I think you must be very careful and model the same things that you are teaching your students. If your students see you getting upset about losing, you are not doing your job as a teacher. I know that learning about how to interact with people in competitive situations has helped me in my life, and I know that it helps my students as well.
competition
Submitted by Jim K. (not verified) on January 17, 2008 - 13:43.
I think that competition is ok. I look at kids and I think they like to see if they are better than other teens. I try to have kids work to beat themselves or to see if they can beat a grade of quality of a paper from the last one they tried. Can't always get there when they say, "Was it better than Joe's?"
What do you folks think?
competition
Submitted by Tony (not verified) on January 17, 2008 - 10:05.
I prefer individual competition. Everyone should strive to do their very best, forget about doing better than the other guy. Competing to win, or be the fastest, the biggest, the best...I think these ideas do more harm than good. Does there really need to be a "supercenter" at every corner of the American city? Does there really need to be a stock motorcycle that can reach speeds over 150 mph, if that's what you really want? If a child is getting A's and B's do the parents really need to send that child to a learning center so he or she gets all A's? Do you really need a 9 passenger Chevy Suburban to haul you and your spouse and your dog around? Competition leads to excess.
Hi Tony, I really like what
Submitted by Bob Beaumier (not verified) on January 17, 2008 - 19:29.
Hi Tony,
I really like what you say about competition. I think schools should deemphasize competition and go to criterion assessment. If you meet the criterion then you pass. This, of course, eliminates marking on a curve. A close relative of mine went to a college that only gave pass or fail rather than grades. She didn't have a clue that she was graduating Cum Laude until shortly before the graduation. In my opinion, however, what she learned to attain her degree at this college was the equivalent of a Master's degree in many other colleges or universities.
Even businesses -- the most competitive places around -- are now placing a high value on hiring people who can work cooperatively with others.
Bob Beaumier
competition
Submitted by Alan Robbins (not verified) on January 17, 2008 - 07:26.
I belive that competition can a useful tool when used correctly. I also believe that students are far more resilient than we give them credit for. Whether we agree or not, competition is fact of life that we should prepare our students for. Competition starts early and children need to learn that healthy competition can be a useful tool that encourages students to reach their very best. Children should learn that not every kid will make the team and that not everyone will go to Harvard, but that everyone has a shot if they are willing to do the hard work.
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