Do We All Nerve Gold Analysis

Participation trophies are changing kids ideas of winning around the globe in many ways. First off, it gives children the wrong impression on working or putting an effort towards something. Trophies are something you should have to earn. Life doesn’t give you a participation medal, you have to earn it (Website #2). Kids just need to learn that

A new trend across America has risen in sports. Event officials are doling out participation trophies in massive numbers. The question is, are these participation trophies negatively changing the basic American values we treasure in these children? Yes, participation trophies are shaping a new cultural norm of entitlement and it promotes a new attitude of doing nothing, yet still being rewarded for it. This trend must be put to a halt and reversed. Participation trophies are not the answer to making kids feel better about themselves.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” this phrase is a great representation of the problem that children of the world face due to participation trophies. Participation trophies kill the drive of young kids unless they are taught to accept them correctly. Children need to know that these awards should not be a goal.

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.

The topic of whether children should receive participation trophies has sparked national debate. According to a recent

In the article “Dangers of an ‘everyone gets a trophy’ culture?” Ashley Merryman interviews thirty seven children to see what they think about participation trophies. One kid, Levey Friedman, said to Ashley Merryman “Well, I kind of purposely played in this esiar one because I knew I would win and now I don’t really count that as a real victory because I went in and I knew it was below my level.” In other words Levey Friedman only played on the lower level sports team to win. One year when I played soccer we only won one out of thirteen games. At the end of the year we got our trophies and awards and now every time I see the soccer trophy it just reminds me of how bad our team was and how bad we did that season. Kids know when a sport is below their level so it's dangerous to think that everyone's a

“Sending him home empty-handed at the end of a hard-fought season won’t help him learn the lesson of losing, it will teach him early that there’s no value in the attempt” (Zadrozny). Prizes such as trophies and ribbons are a controversial topic in society. Some believe that not enough are handed out to children while others believe that too many are handed out. Trophies are a symbol of victory and triumph, but do not forget that children just want to feel part of a team even though they are not good enough. Putting forth an honest effort is important, and doing well is the habit on which they will be repeatedly evaluated in life. Even though some believe trophies are not good, they give a boost of confidence while keeping children happy and

Heffernan believes that if kids are given these trophies as a sign of recognition, even for just showing up, they will become motivated to do more next time, because when it comes down to winning and losing, at a young age it’s not a necessity, as the lesson in that is all around them (Heffernan, Paragraph 3). The main lesson in this is that it teaches kids at a young age to not give up, and to strive to succeed, although there is no need to fret over failure, because what matters is that you do your best. Even if success isn’t the result, then working hard with recognition as motivation will have a greater outcome the next time. Not only that, but it is a lesson in teamwork, as kids are taught to work together, and if someone is struggling, then they are there to help, since they have been in the same situation (Heffernan, Paragraph 8). Teamwork is a major key in adulthood. There will be many instances in which teamwork is key, and will make tasks easier to handle. Where there is teamwork, there is also leadership, a quality that many discover through teamwork. It is important for kids to learn leadership in order to handle difficult situations in the future. There are some negatives to those who receive participation trophies, as there can be kids who just don’t care at all about any recognition, and can grow out of the sport, or anything else. Sometimes, what is used to motivate some can be seen as discouraging towards others, and there is where a flaw is seen with

In fact, when young guns begin to view participation trophies as an insult to their potential, they’ll aim for nothing but winning” (Maniyamkott 1). Every time a child receives a participation trophy they

Participation trophies are a way to fool parents into thinking that they are protecting their kids. “It’s affirmation that our kids are as wonderful as we think they are” (Armour). When really all that is being done is postponing the child from experiencing failure. The longer we shield kids from experiencing loss or failure the worse they will react to it when they experience it, but yet parents will try their best to postpone it as long as possible. They want every child to receive the same amount of recognition and complain if their child does not. This not only affects the child, but affects the businesses involving these younger kids. If a business like a basketball camp gives out trophies for different skill building competitions for example, and a child does not receive any rewards. The parent will not send their child back for the fear that not receiving a trophy will ruin their child’s childhood. This can ruin the business’s income and what they can do in their camp based on the number of people that decide to come back

The idea of participation trophies is a highly debated topic. Throughout society, the big question is if

Does frivolously giving trophies to children make them into better adults or take away their will to give their best? Giving trophies out every time a child participates in an activity has just become a way of life; from receiving 12th and 13th place ribbons at field days to receiving participation trophies for tee ball and soccer. Children should have to earn what they receive, and if they lose then the hurt feelings they may have will just help them grow in to well-rounded adults that are able to cope with failure in their future. Giving trophies to children is great for boosting a child’s self-esteem, yet it dilutes the ability to overcome failure; trophies are mass produced and frivolously distributed by adults, but children still know what they have earned and what they have not.

Have you ever performed the worst that you could, but still got rewarded for it? Me either. In society today, we have come to the fact that everyone should be a winner just because they were involved. How will that affect our society when these "participation winners" get to the real life, and realize they don't win no matter how hard or not how hard they work? It has become a huge argument when coming to this topic all around America, especially in school activities with ages from 3-18. If everyone were to receive a participation trophy for their performances than that will affect society greatly when these kids get into the real adult world. Based off of the article shared and developed ideas, there becomes three argumentative

Betty Berdan’s article, “Participation Trophies Send a Dangerous Message,” she says this about trophies: “Trophies for all convey an inaccurate and potentially dangerous life message to children: We are all winners.” Participation trophies get kids to believe they have won at something, when they did not. In the future, when these children are face to face with the real world, there will not be participation trophies handed out in the classrooms because someone did all that they could to pass and there will not be a participation trophy waiting for someone at their desk at work because they tried to complete a task and failed, which may ultimately cost a person the job. To be able to face failure and overcome it, we must teach these young athletes and students what failure is at a very young age and let them realize not everyone is a winner. Participation trophies need to be put to an end so children can adapt to failure and learn how to overcome

Children of all ages appreciate winning trophies for every occasion whether it is a championship victory or a celebration of a season. When children of youth receive trophies after losing a game creates a negative influence on the child. A series of budget cuts have been directed towards youth programs due to a number of trophies bought continuously for every little game and meant to encourage the children to stay. However, the trophies do not prepare the children; rather, they teach children that arriving at a sport or club meet will earn them a reward rather than focus on continuous progression. The act of giving children's trophies at every meet is destructive towards the child’s mindset due to the disability to recognize their faults. Children