Meaningless Awards For Children Research Paper

Overall, I support Merryman’s claim that society rewards all participants despite their qualifications to hold the title of a “winner”. Today the term “winner” has become a cliché where people have driven the idea of success to the brink of extinction. Meaning, that society has over produced the idea of a winner to the extent that some other title would have to replace the phrase “Congratulations, you are a winner”. Personally, I believe that Merryman demonstrates the effect that as children are constantly provided trophies, certificates, and other methods of reward, each of these materials tend to tamper with the foundation of the meaning of being a true victor. Merryman states that, “nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead it causes them to under achieve;” with this statement, Merryman shows the key idea that as children

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

Descriptive praise also comments on what the child has done wrong. Although this may appear to decrease a child’s self-esteem and confidence, in reality it allows them to reflect upon their mistakes, pushing themselves further in order to be appreciated. Without recognition a child feels the need to work towards the incomplete task in order to receive praise, encouraging themselves eventually increasing self-confidence after being praised. Gradually children will become aware of the expectations that are expected of them, comprehending that they have the ability to achieve great heights when they are determined. This motivation allows children to approach situations in the future with a positive attitude as they will take on any task with the mindset to complete it to the best of their ability allowing for success. Certain words of encouragement such as “you're not complaining about the food” or “you tasted the peas. That was brave” can influence a child’s behavior positively. This form of communication is not only a way for parents to motivate them, but also a way for them to realize on their own the various expectations parents have for children; thus better understanding their view on situations. As children are constantly praised for the same things they feel the need to go above and beyond what is expected of them portraying to both themselves and parents that they are aware of expectations. Once children are aware of

Finally, kids that are given participation trophies are given the wrong idea. Fifty-seven percent of people said "only winners" deserve to have participation trophies, giving out participation trophies is tantamount to giving kids the wrong praise, and giving kids with bad attitudes and not a care in the world is not a good idea. These kids need to realize that they need

“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

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.

It’s the culture that we are creating and allowing our kids to believe that they don’t have to work hard to get an award” (Mark Gibbs). A culture of expectation is created with participation trophies, and we shouldn’t let our kids grow up believing that we live in a world of expectation where everything is handed to them without giving it their

Participation trophies should not be handed out to teach children the purpose of working hard to achieve your

The article Do Kids Get off Easy? discusses the ongoing debate between parents and the teachers, coaches, and other authority figures of their children’s lives about how often kids should get rewarded. Nowadays, many kids are rewarded for just showing up and participating. It’s not about who wins or loses, but it’s about putting in effort and trying their best. The article shows the opinion of some parents by stating “… its assumed that the best way to get children ready for the miserable ‘real world’ that awaits them is to make sure they have plenty of miserable experiences while they’re young.” A result of this type of reward system leads to a child growing up with “conditional regard” and “the development of a fragile, contingent and unstable

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

From a young age children are encouraged to inhibit critical thinking and go beyond expectations, advancing further than the formalities their parents aspire for them. All of so is encouraged until the child exhibits connotations that venture away from the parent or guardians’ standpoints. The parent chooses to blame outside influences (i.e. peers, teachers, etc), as the reason behind these thoughts and scrutinize the child as being corrupted.

A young child is like a tree, when given nourishment and a safe environment to grow in, they will become strong physically and mentally. Positively rewarded toddlers have more initiative to learn and tend to contribute more to society than their negatively rewarded counterparts. Children, who are neglected or ridiculed for their efforts, will experience their inner spirit and fire being extinguished. They also tend to have slower mental capabilities with little or no initiative. Negatively reinforced children are less willing to want to learn and thrive; they experience embarrassment, shame and guilt for their discoveries.

The winners drive the losers and the losers will drive the winners. If we just give every kid a trophy then we wont have any winners and losers s there will be no drive. If there is no drive then they will no get any better because they wont be trying to get better. They cant go into life thinking like this that they don’t need to try because it will just be given to them. They can learn now so they will now how to over come obstacles and get what they want in life buy achieving by betting the person if front of