No more trophies for participating 5

[SkipVought]

Let's heat this general topic just a tad.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...ll-program-wants-kids-to-earn-their-trophies/

I believe that the participation trophy mindset is a fantasy frame of mind.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> some who work hardest get a trophy "A" while others don't.
Since it's a math class, what do those who get the right answers receive?


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[mscallisto]

100

That's the best (only) witty retort I could think of.
Obviously I didn't get the trophy "A".

 

[kwbMitel]

==> I also find irony in the fact that the journey for the losing team seems to be all that matters.
What I have said that gives you that impression?

Nothing you said really, but considering that they are not there to win but to get a share of the revenue and all they need to do is show up, it strikes me as a participation award.

Is this money changing hands true in High School football as well? If so, that's messed up IMHO. The 91 - 0 game was between 2 high school teams (Aledo High School and Western Hills). Again, I only have my own experience to go by but locally in my city of around 800,000 people, our high school football teams are divided into 3 divisions of varying ability. There would never be such a disparity of talent. This system is designed to allow the bigger schools with the greater depth of talent and funded sports programs to play each other without beating up on the smaller schools or academic ones with different priorities. My son just finished his season with 2 wins and 7 loses. He was really bummed out last night about missing the playoffs. I took him aside and asked some key questions.

Basically:
Did you do your best? - yes
Did you practice hard? - yes
Did you miss any practices? - no
Did you like your coaches? - yes
Did you think you could have won more? - yes
Did you like your team mates? - yes
Did your team mates try just as hard? - most
Did you have fun? - yes
Can you tell me any reason why you shouldn't be proud of your efforts? - no
Do you think you'll try again next year? - yes

By the end he was smiling just as much as I was. He just doesn't know my smile was partially because I don't have to sit out in freezing weather anymore this year. It's been warmer than usual up here but still hovering around 0C / 32F on some nights. Hockey arenas are warmer!

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What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Nothing you said really, but considering that they are not there to win but to get a share of the revenue and all they need to do is show up, it strikes me as a participation award.
You're making an invalid assumption. They are there to win, and sometimes they do. They know their odds aren't very good, and they know their opponent is better, but that doesn't stop them from going out and giving everything they've got to win. Because if they do, that's the biggest win most of them will ever experience, and that reward will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Oh, they are playing to win.

==> Is this money changing hands true in High School football as well?
I do not know the game financial arrangements between public high schools in Texas.

I know that Texas categorizes their high school into divisions based on the size of the school, as does every state that I'm aware of, and apparently as does your home town. That's the normal way to do it.

Aledo High School and Western Hills are both class 4A high schools with enrollments of approximately 1100 and 1500 (grades 9 through 12) respectively, and they play in the same district. Aleda, despite being the smaller school, just happens to have a powerhouse team this year, and they're beating everybody in the district by big scores. A couple of years ago, Western Hills won the district. Sometimes, things just work out that way without anything nefarious being afoot.

==> There would never be such a disparity of talent.
Actually there can be. It's very unusual, but as in this case, a rare collection of talent comes together at the same place at the same time. That doesn't mean the system is broken; it means that this is an anomolous year. It happens - not very often - but it happens. And the investigation into Aledo seems to bear that out.

The conversation you had with your son is great, and right on the money. As I said in an earlier post (25 Oct 13 9:56), what you do after a loss may be more important than what you do after a win. Yes, he's understandably bummed about missing the playoffs, which is a perfectly natural and normal feeling. Your son's answers indicate that he feels they could have done better, that they could have won more, and that's a healthy feeling. I hope that next year he puts force the effort to reach that goal, and he'll be a year better. And if he does and makes the playoffs (and I really do hope he does), it will be that much sweeter for him because he knows how it feels to not make them. If he does make the playoffs, I hope you ask him to compare the feelings of making the playoffs vs the feelings of missing the playoffs. I highly doubt he'll answer that it's about the same because it wasn't about winning and making the playoffs; it was just about playing and having fun.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[tcsbiz]

Participation trophies don't bother me as long as those who achieve/win get their deserved recognition. The achievers/winners need to be given more recognition. I have a problem with events that have no winners. Everyone simply gets participation ribbons. That approach may be fine for really young ages like 5-7. Children need to learn that they do not get paid for simply participating in work regardless of outcome.

 

[Andrzejek]

< [You] do not get paid for simply participating in work regardless of outcome
Obviously you never worked for Government.
(Sadly, not a joke...) :-(

Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[tcsbiz]

@Andy,

I am working for a local government now.

Tom

 

[JCreamerII]

I think for the younger group < 7 or 8 it has a purpose. Once you get old enough to understand that there are kids who are more athletic than you it's time to reward success and not give everybody a medal or whatever. Don't look at his thru your eyes, look thru the eyes of that little kid who is just trying to figure it all out. You would be suprised how much they understand at a young age. But when they are really young they need the added incouragement that the awards can pass along.

Jim C.

 

[SkipVought]

>Obviously you never worked for Government.

I can remember after my freshman year, I had a co-op assignment at a US Naval Air Development Center, as a GS 5 drafter (when they used T-Squares and Triangles to draw with pencils on vellum).

One of the en approched me toward the end of the first week and told me to slow down, or else I'd make them look bad.

Once my summer assignments were over, I never had another urge to work in that kind of an environment. It was a productivity and personal incentive killer.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE![/sub]