Ashley Merryman Losing Is Good For You Analysis

Coming off the last pro where there are a lot of hard-working children. These kids could end up just wanting to find this level of success again and strive to reach it again. Winning something could easily cause a child to want to be in this situation once again. The feeling of achievement can be contagious to these kids everyday lives and can lead to major success for them in their

The general argument made by Berdan in her work, “Participation Trophies Send A Dangerous Message,” is that participation awards commemorate individuals for everyone being a winner. More specifically, Berdan argues that distributing participation trophies to all participants diminishes the meaning of the first, second, or third place trophy. She writes, “When awards are handed out like candy to every child who participates, they diminish in value.” In this passage, Berdan is suggesting that rewarding children constantly with a trophy decreases the value of the trophy that the actual winners earned. Personally, I agree with Berdan because I agree with the concept that providing children with constant rewards sends a dangerous message later in life. On the other hand, writer Eric Priceman defends his opinion that these continuous awards are a necessary part of the education process for young children and will benefit them to strive for better. More specifically, Priceman argues that there is a difference between an award and a reward; he states that an award is given for achievement while a reward is given for accomplishment. He writes, “Just syntax maybe, but anyone that has ever achieved at the highest level has had to endure multiple levels of accomplishment first.” In this passage, Priceman is suggesting that people who have reached the highest levels of trophies and medals have also been encouraged along the way with things such as participation awards. He describes the action of distributing participation awards similarly to encouraging phrases that motivate an individual to strive for greatness. Despite his argument, I believe Priceman is wrong because rewarding children with a meaningless trophy or certificate provides no benefit for them in their future. More specifically, I

Merryman voices “A recent study found if parents thought failure was debilitating, their kids adopted that perspective” (Merryman). It is the parent’s job to teach their children how to accept participation awards correctly. That losing is not that bad. Merryman goes on saying “If parents believed overcoming failure and mistakes make you stronger, then their children believed it, too” (Merryman). That statement pressures the idea that whatever the parent’s opinion on the matter is transferred to the kid. That kid will go on to work harder and not need the participation trophies to be an objective. The success of the children depends on the

The praise and encouragement the children receive will instill a sense of self-worth in them. When parents “prais[e] children for their effort, … [it] is… effective… motivating them” (Hammond). The praise can help children realize that their effort is valuable and that with the effort can come possible success. The motivation that their parents provide can be the foundation for self-motivation in the future, which creates more drive to continue with a challenging task. They will be given unconditional self-esteem which is essential in overcoming whatever failure they may encounter, whether it be in school or in social circumstances. Furthermore, the praise the children receive will not blind them from their faults and failures. Will children “who [have] received a trinket after losing a contest… [believe] that [they] … won” (Kohn)? Children have the ability of recognising their own defeat, and the defeat in itself will already put the child down, so a scolding parent will not help the child’s mindset. Instead, when children are encouraged after a defeat and are provided with a positive environment, they will recognise their loss and will become stronger because of it. If they realize that they are worth love and praise even if they make mistakes, they can grow and develop self-confidence

Our society has shifted its beliefs in how we should treat competition in young people. The concept that "everyone receives a trophy" has taken the place of only rewarding those who achieve excellence within that activity. Rewarding all participants in youth activities and sports has become standard practice in American culture. "Should kids get a trophy for participation?" or should only the achievers receive a trophy? In the following essay it will explore the idea that everyone should win from participating and get an achievement for being there.

Participation trophies have created many issues on the effects it causes a child in the future. The issues relate to wanting the child to have a nice life, but also wanting them to learn the values and morals that are needed to succeed in this world. In both essays, they want the child to have everything they never had, but most importantly to obtain the grits and tools that will allow them be successful and independent. Participation trophies have caused two major controversies between wanting to teach a child about success and failure to make them work hard, or teaching them about self-esteem and commitment to allow them to work as a team with skills and protocols.

Ashley Merryman, co-author of “Nature Shock,” (NY Times, Oct. 6, 2016) in “Forget Trophies, Let Kids Know It’s O.K. to Lose” argues that there is nothing wrong with losing because failure can actually be helpful. I passionately agree with this.

The author is writing this article to tell Americans that most schools give out awards for just showing up and avoiding the problem of having parents complain because their child did not receive an award. He thinks that it is ridiculous. He’s writing to the audience of school children and their parents. He tries to persuade his audience by explaining that trophies are better earned than given. It will promote higher self-esteem. Yes, I do agree with the author’s point of view for a few reasons. If a student earns good grades and the whole class gets an award they will feel that no matter what their grades are they can receive an award. So, they will stop earning good grades. In order to receive an award you should have to put in hard work and

In America, we have shifted our beliefs on participation trophies. Nowadays, everyone and anyone receives trophies and awards solely for showing up. There is a dramatic split in in our nation as to whether or not participation trophies should be given out among young children. Many argue that giving children these trophies will make them grow up to be lazy and entitled, others say children are too young for the idea that somebody is better than them. I believe that children should receive participation awards, because it teaches kids that having fun is more important than winning, at a young age, children shouldn't be taught that some of their peers are better than them, and contrary to popular belief, I don't believe that participation awards lead to lazy and entitled kids.

As children who have received participation awards begin to grow older, they are introduced to more and more situations in which not everyone is a winner. A person who has been a winner all their life will eventually lose, and it will affect them more seriously because they have not had experience dealing with failure at an early age. According to the article “Failure is an Option: Raising Children in a ‘Participation Trophy’ Society” in Scouting Magazine, Dr. Tim Elmore believes failure is like a coach, teaching kids to try their best. Elmore argues that participation trophies take away the positive effects of losing, and children grow up lacking motivation and become wary of testing their abilities due to fear of failure. This leads to children being more emotionally fragile than they should be, which may eventually result in serious matters such as depression and even suicide. Participation awards treat everyone like a winner, which means children do not learn how to cope with loss. Kids that don’t experience dealing with failure end up being afraid of it, and this constant fear contributes to psychological problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression. For example, if a child were to

The notion of participation awards in childhood activities have raised a spark debate; while awarding each child with a uniform trophy supports equality, what’s there to say about the detrimental effect on motivation if everyone is labeled a winner? The expectation of an award or certificate, in conclusion to any activity, is viewed as a guarantee; often, they serve as the sole motivation point for those uninterested in the activity itself as they’re aware they’ll be a winner regardless. This inflated sense of self-worth brought upon by miniscule awards, most especially participation, leaves children unprepared for adult life as a functioning member of society. While generous in thought, participation awards support a distorted view of reality

Lampley, Frederick English 1A November 2, 2015 Mr. Buonadonna The “Me Generation” The speech, “You’re Not Special” given by David McCullough to Wellesley High School graduates, criticized their generation for epitomizing the “Me Generation”. The speaker warns the graduates about superficial behaviors and characteristics that are more evident than in prior generations. Regrettably, McCullough correctly argues that the “Me Generation” exhibits attitudes that if continued could weaken a generation, including: viewing themselves as more special than everyone else; believing that accolades are more meaningful than genuine achievement; and that self-centeredness is an appropriate virtue.

Losing, no one wants to lose no matter what they are doing. If a kid loses then they want to get better and then get the prize but if a kid gets a trophy for no reason then they think that they don’t have to try harder and then faces difficulties in life that they don’t understand. “My children look forward to their trophy as much as playing the game.” (Jean Twenge) if kids think that the trophy has the same amount of importance as the game they shouldn’t play at all.

    In today’s society, children think they need to be awarded for participating in events. Participation awards do not always teach children the lessons they need to learn. Participation awards can always be great, but it is not teaching the children the lessons we want them to learn. “We must focus on process and progress, not results and rewards,” (Merryman). The awards affect how the children will act later in their life. Children will always participate if it meant they would receive an award.

Many people have said that handing out participation trophies to children is good, because children will be able to receive for all of their effort. To some people “The cold, hard, gold plated truth just might be that awards for worthy deeds actually encourage children --and grown ups-- to try harder, and take pride in their own abilities, and do the right thing...And I don’t see how that can be wrong” (Today). Although trophies may help encourage children and adults to believe in their abilities, but children should be taught that trophies do not mean everything, even though children may receive an excessive amount of “trophies” they don’t tell the truth. Children should only receive trophies when “The moment of pride comes out of performing