So there is a lot to unpack in these truisms. Competition is a reality, but it is not always fun or productive. In fact, it is often the opposite.
Sure, not everyone is competitive and not everyone wants to participate in competitive sports. But competitive sports, I would say, are competitive for a reason (the competition is one of the things that makes them fun, just like you probably wouldn't play chess that didn't have win conditions or even checkers).
Similarly, measuring performance is also often counterproductive. Everything depends on context. As soon as you put a measurement in place, you create an expectation, and this can often inhibit creativity and innovation. It tends to restrict self-expression and, in education, often limits personal growth.
I would agree in part here. These measurements are not everything, but I do find them helpful. Especially in the context of sports where there are specific conditions of victory both sides are aiming for.
Exhibit A: Grades and Report Cards.
I am a teacher with decades of experience. I hate grades and report cards. I think they are a bane upon education. For me, the whole point of education is to help each person achieve their potential. But grades and report cards are about standardization. Specifically, standardization around a set of criteria that were mostly developed more than a century ago, and thus reflect a lot of outdated assumptions about what intelligence should be, and how it should be measured. The end result is an education system that makes a lot of brilliant people feel stupid and worthless because they don't fit a particular model of the mind. Instead of encouraging them to reach their potential, it frustrates and stunts them.
I do think education is a completely different topic than this. I am talking about it in the context of sports. Clearly I am not a teacher so I don't know much about the other side of grading. Here, we are living in different countries so I imagine the challenges in our respective systems are very different. I will say, I had great difficulty as a student early on because I am dyslexic. I didn't properly read a book until high school. But once I started overcoming this issue, things like grades were a very important part of gauging my level of improvement and a very important motivator (especially when I went to college). I am not saying I know there perfect system here. But I feel like I thrived more in a system where grading existed (while I was in high school I was able to visit alternative schools that didn't have grades, and even spent a week attending one, and it just wasn't a good fit for my personality)
And the end result of that is a lot of people who live unhappy lives and contribute a lot less than they could have, or who succeed despite having been educated. The current education system, worldwide, is built around picking winners and losers based on invalid criteria. Measuring performance in particular tasks is only useful when the task is applicable to a specific outcome. If the specific outcome is "helping this person maximize their unique potential," then you aren't likely to get there by measuring their performance against a bunch of standardized tasks.
I certainly think there is a lot wrong with current education. And I think society is cruel to people who fall behind or who are perceived as
(EDIT) not having all the 'right' qualifications. But I think that is a whole other topic. You and probably don't disagree much on broad points here, but we may disagree on some specifics. I live in Massachusetts and they just voted to eliminate standardized tests. I understand the arguments for why that was on the ballot but our schools are ahead nationally and I think getting rid of the required tests might be a mistake (of course time will tell, and I don't have kids so I don't think this is an issue where my opinion is as important as say my sisters who both do have kids).
Exhibit B: Trophies (participation or otherwise)
What are you trying to achieve with trophies, awards, and medals? In psychological terms, they are a form of positive reinforcement, but note that in psychology "positive" does not mean "good," it just means that you are adding something in order to influence behaviour (for example, pain is also positive reinforcement). Typically, the positive reinforcement from a trophy is an ego boost, but what for? Mostly, they are there to reinforce a particular set of assumptions and values, and to give emotional pleasure to the recipient (secondarily) and to the recipient's family and fans (primarily). They stunt growth, and lead to limited ego development that revolves around external affirmation.
They certainly can be an ego boost. It is nice to get a trophy. I wouldn't agree that they stunt growth. A trophy is something you earn for your performance in an event, that you worked hard for months to achieve: months of training, conditioning, etc. Obviously what it represents can vary from one sport to another. But for me I saw trophies as being a way to help commemorate something you achieved that particular day. And some trophies have more weight than others (a trophy from the nationals or olympics is probably going to mean more to some people than trophies from regional qualifiers).
But that trophy comes at the end of a physical performance in an event with clear rules. You aren't really there to get the trophy. You are there to perform in an event. Now to some people this may be meaningless. But to a kid who has put in countless hours of training to get good at something, and does well enough to win. I don't see any harm in giving them a trophy for that.
As I posted in the other thread, there is nothing sadder than an adult with a trophy wall.
Perhaps to you. And I think a lot of people have a stereotype in their head of people like Al Bundy or Johnny Lawrence. But trophies are like anything else you get in life. They are no sadder than hanging pictures on your wall of friends and family.
And I don't think most people have trophy walls, but people keep trophies and medals for all kinds of reasons. My grandfather was a boxer and he won the golden gloves more than once. Those got passed down through my family and we still have them. I am probably going to inherit them from my mother. These don't mean much outside of boxing fandom. But in the world of boxing, and particularly in Massachusetts, they have meaning. I still have a bunch of my TKD medals. For me they are mementos. I just keep them hanging on a keychain by my desk. They aren't on display but there so I have them. The value they bring me now, is when I look at something like my medal from the Yong Yin University event I went to, it reminds me of the people I was friends with and competed with at the time (it isn't really a team sport like soccer but your school goes there together as a team). And it reminds me of the time I spent training at the dojang I went to (and the master there and his wife). It isn't "oh my glory days". It is more appreciation that I got a chance to have those memories and I got a chance to test myself physically
Competition can be fun, in the right context, for certain types of people. It is not inherently fun - just ask the kid who gets picked on in dodge ball. Measuring performance can be helpful, but only when the measurement and expected outcome are in synch and useful, which typically they are not.
Yes, I started with an example of quitting soccer because the coach made me resentful and not have a fun time. So I am not saying make kids who don't want to compete. I am not saying parents should put kids in the field for their own glory. I am saying it can be fun and the process of learning to win and lose is important. I think there are life lessons kids learn from experiencing some competitive sports. And all we are really talking about here is keeping score. I mean you can keep score in a game where the point is to keep score and not make the kids into jerks about it. You can tell them, winning is fun but it isn't everything.
I would push back on the idea it isn't inherently fun. I think soccer isn't inherently fun for everyone. But most people eventually find something they are good at and probably enjoy being competitive about (even if that is something like Magic the Gathering)
