There was once a girl named Sally who attended a basketball camp when she was nine. All of the kids there worked really hard, but not Sally. Sally refused to give an effort at all. At the end of the camp, Sally received a trophy for showing up — the same trophy that all the other children got. Sally cherished this trophy all her life and passed it down to her children since it taught her that you do not have to work hard for anything in your life and you will still be rewarded! As you can see, there are some issues with this scenario. In fact there is a lot of controversy on whether all children should receive trophies, or only a select few. I believe that giving children too many unearned trophies not only has no value, but has a negative effect on their character.
Some people think that giving children trophies for participation is good for them because it has a positive impact on the kids’ mindset. They say that it motivates children to do better and it makes them feel like they are not compared to children who have more talent. However, this
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For example, it makes kids entitled. If they grow up receiving awards that are not earned, naturally, they expect other things in life to come to them without putting forth effort. Also, it fails to motivate them. As claimed by Ashley Merryman in her article, “Losing Is Good for You,” “Awards can be powerful motivators, but nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead it causes them to underachieve.” In addition to this, it takes away the glory from the kids who truly do work hard. When some individuals put a lot of hard work into their academics or sports, they should be recognized for it. I have seen that these children get very discouraged when the kids who do not work as hard get the same recognition as them. As you can see, awarding children trophies for their every move has a very negative effect on their work
Participation trophies send a dangerous message. I have many trophies,but i worked hard for these trophies. Everyone on my team deserves my team. For the people who think giving out the same award at the end of the year to all the children; i am sorry to inform you that your hurting the child more than not giving the child the trophy at all. Children need to know the importance of working hard than someone else. In life you do not make the same amount as your boss makes just because you show up on time everyday. Why would the kids who just show up to practice everyday vs the kids the more elite kids get the same reward. Life does not work like that.
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
Yes it might make kids feel good when they receive a trophy. But the kids that do nothing don't deserve a trophy.
In an age where everyone is expected to be recognized, there must be an understanding that the world does not progress by congratulating the “average.” I believe that giving participation trophies makes people stop competing; especially if the trophies are given at a very early age. For example, a team of small children have a terrible baseball season, but it’s okay! Because the coach gives out trophies to everyone. This in turn only teaches the child that no matter how bad life gets, they will always be rewarded. Participation trophies create future generations of entitled adults as seen by today’s generation. We need to reward kids that work hard for what they do for the sake of risk and reward. That is simply how progress is made in society. Yet I agree with one point made by the opposing side. I believe that participation should be recognized sometimes. Participation can teach kids that teamwork matters in every little aspect of society. Participation trophies should be eliminated but participation should still merely just be recognized with a pat on the back as said by Betty Berdan, a high school junior from Connecticut. Participation trophies overall hinder the growing and learning process of kids; whether it is through sports, or any other competitive involvement.
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
Reason-Rupe poll, 43 percent of Americans believe that every child should receive a trophy for participation, but the numbers drop with income, education, and age. Although participation trophies can cause unrealistic expectations in children, these trophies raise self-esteem and build a work ethic.
When giving kids trophies it's supposed to be a reward for hard work. But giving trophies to everyone makes it less special. It shows kids they don’t have to do anything but
Is giving kids participation trophies beneficial to children, or motivation killers? Many people all around the U.S. have their opinions for both sides of the discussion. James Harrison, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has weighed in on this topic. In many people’s eyes, his beliefs make a lot of sense, they understand where he’s coming from and what he is speaking about. Carol Dweck also made a statement to NPR about her belief’s on the topic. There are millions of important facts that need to be talked about with this epidemic: an estimated fifty-seven percent said “only winners” should receive a trophy for participation in kids sports, giving out participation trophies is tantamount to giving kids the wrong kind of praise, and this
That is what I think the participation trophies are doing to kids. When I was a kid my dad was always my coach during sports and if we were ever given those trophies he would tell the people that we did not want them. Maybe some kids so not understand the meaning of them but on my team we all did. “Giving everyone a trophy will not prepare them for the real world.” - Ashley Merryman, the co-author of “Nature Shock: New Thinking About Children.” I agree with her 100%. When kids do not try hard in the real world, they will most likely be fired from their job. If they are just given trophies they will not learn that sometimes they have to do more than just show up. There was an Olympic Gold Medalist say “losing was the best thing that ever happened to them, because it made them want to work harder.” Now I do not know who it was that said that but it makes complete sense.There has been some conversation about Kevin Durant just trying to find an easy way to get a trophy. In 2016, Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder and went and played for the best team in the league the Golden State Warriors. I think that is exactly what he did, he did not earn that trophy. Everyone hated what he did because the Warriors beat the Thunder the year before in the playoffs. Earning the trophy is the best feeling ever. When I was a kid when my team would not win a game, it made us want to come out the next game and try even
“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
Imagine being on a baseball, soccer, ect. Team and getting a trophy for just being there. Say you practiced non stop to be really good at that sport but when it is time to get rewarded everyone gets a trophy, even the kids who never practice or hit the ball. How would that make you feel? It would probably make you upset because you put your time and effort into practice. Recently people have been arguing over if kids should or should not get trophies for just showing up. There are multiple reasons I do not think kids should get trophies for just showing up.
Imagine a world where everyone gets a reward for everything that they do well. Everyone would get a reward for making it to class on time, being ready for the bus in the mornings, and staying quiet in the halls. This is equivalent to when every kid gets a participation trophy for showing up to a game. Trophies shouldn't be given to everyone because over time, they will lose their value, they will over-inflate a child’s ego, and because it will make them unprepared for life. On the contrary, trophies should only be given to the highest ranking people in the competition, because trophies are good for rewarding as long as they deserve it.
My first reason why every kid should not get a trophy is because the athletes and students will never want to challenge themselves. Letnice Dennis states that, “ by creating opportunities for healthy competition, students are given a reason to try harder and do better”. This shows that losing and not earning something is going to cause the kids to try
If everyone gets a trophy then all trophies will lose their meaning. Everything isn't always about trophies, it about teaching them they need to actually do something to earn their reward. Acording to Debate.org it says “say if someone just sat on the bench and did not want to play the game, sometimes even the whole game.” You need to motivate them to earn something and work for it, they're not going to learn anything from it. Kids will never know what truly winning something is if you keep giving them rewards. As you can see, trophies can lose their meanings if you get them all the time because you need to work hard for them and they will lose their
There are many reasons why giving each kid a trophy is not a good reason. First off this is not how it works when your get into "adult life" so to say. When you grow up and have to work for the things you want you are not just handed things like trophy's for coming in last. No you will actually have to work for it and if we teach our kids that we don have to work for things and it will just be handed to us then that’s is how they will think how life works. Then they will wonder why they are not successful in life and it will because they are to used to things being handed to them from there childhood.