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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9622054" data-attributes="member: 7035894">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.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.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standardization around a set of criteria that were mostly developed more than a century ago, and thus reflect a lot of outdated assumptions about what intelligence should be, and how it should be measured.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.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.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.As I posted in the other thread, there is nothing sadder than an adult with a trophy wall.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.</blockquote>

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