http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/14/339822646/the-npr-ed-mailbag-the-participation-trophy
The participation trophy--good encouragement or the epitome of the "wussification" of America?
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/14/339822646/the-npr-ed-mailbag-the-participation-trophy
63 Comments
Neha Gandra
9/9/2015 05:28:51 pm
wussification of America, for sure.
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Oliver Daniel
9/9/2015 07:44:57 pm
Neha, I agree with your stance because of your support in regards to real life situations. Participation doesn't count for much in the real world.
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Anna Mae
9/10/2015 09:49:18 am
exactly...participation is almost expected in the real world and "just trying" hardly gets you any recognition.
Divya Gumudavelly
9/9/2015 11:08:38 pm
I completely agree with the fact that they provide a false sense of hope. Often times we think that we deserve something just because we took part in it and went one step further than those who didn't, and I think part of this mentality comes from being reinforced at such a young age.
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Andrea Bartlett
9/12/2015 11:30:25 am
I really like how you put this into perspective.
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Deanna
9/14/2015 01:41:53 pm
I agree with your statement about these trophy's creating a false hope.
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Neha Kishore
9/18/2015 07:32:34 pm
"If boys won't fall for me just because I talk to them" I'm laughing Neha. Jokes aside, I completely agree with you that these trophies do nothing but give a false sense of accomplishment.
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Camille Tish
9/18/2015 10:55:33 pm
I slightly agree and slightly disagree with you, Neha. I like your point on them being a positive influence on kids. However, I disagree when you say that children shouldn't be rewarded in such ways. I think right now, we have a good system. In most sports, the way it works (or at least to my knowledge) is you are typically awarded with participation trophies at a young age, and then weaned off of them as you grow older. I think this is the way it should be, because that reward gives little kids confidence, and it makes them feel good, and I don't think that can be underestimated. I think it's important to reward kids for little things like even playing on a sports team because then they associate an award/ positive result when they participate in activities. Hopefully, it won't result in them becoming reliant/obsessed with winning... but anyways I think it's a good idea.
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Andrea Bartlett
9/20/2015 09:18:27 pm
I like you addressed that participation is a positive influence and didn't just look at it negatively. I'm sure colleges will love my participation medals for not missing a day of school in my 3rd grade year... :D
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Molly Bis
9/20/2015 11:51:58 pm
I agree with you neha, kids who get these participation trophies are being provided with false encouragement that will definitely fizzle out in the near future.
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Oliver Daniel
9/9/2015 07:43:05 pm
This sure is a tough topic to make a stance on. Personally, I think that kids shouldn't be pampered their whole childhoods, because that isn't what life is like. Participation trophies, in my opinion, are not really in the interest of the kids. Of course I may be wrong, but I think that participation trophies are more in the interest of the companies that run the kids sports teams. When I used to play for the Novi Jags Soccer club, up until we were 10 years old we were required by the league to recieve participation awards in tournaments. Now looking at the Jags from the outside in, I can see that the club benefits quite a bit from kids being appeased when they are young. The novi jags is a pretty big business, and in many age groups they have even 4 different teams. That's 4 teams of 20 players paying 1000 dollars each. Thats 80k revenue from just one age group. What if 40 of those kids had given up soccor when they were 10 because they didn't feel like they were good or appreciated?
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Divya Gumudavelly
9/9/2015 11:05:43 pm
Oliver, I like how you brought in a different perspective into your argument. I never thought about the companies that actually run the sports teams and that definitely sheds some more light onto the issue.
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Neha Gandra
9/10/2015 09:46:06 pm
I like your real life soccer club example Oliver. It really shows what you're saying in the form of a concrete situation.
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Madeline
9/10/2015 11:03:31 pm
I like how you brought up the importance of participation in businesses. As far as business goes they're a great idea, but for exposing kids to real success not so much.
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Alex Breuhan
9/16/2015 08:08:07 am
It's a great point that businesses profit from participation trophies. As Zara pointed out, the top comment reads: I own a trophy shop. Everyone should get a trophy. EVERYONE! XD XD
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Lauren
9/17/2015 12:08:48 pm
I agree Oliver, kids will be better prepared for their future if things are just given to them and they have to work hard to accomplish their goals
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Neha Kishore
9/18/2015 07:33:35 pm
Oliver, I never thought about the business side of this argument. I like your new perspective.
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Molly Bis
9/20/2015 11:54:44 pm
I really like how you brought in this perspective, Oliver. I never would have thought of the actual sports companies themselves benefitting from these participation trophies, but I definitely can believe it happening.
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Divya Gumudavelly
9/9/2015 11:03:42 pm
I'm not really in favor of participation trophies. Success is a combination of participation AND effort, and rewarding children for just participation can start to teach them that being involved is enough and actually trying isn't necessary for recognition. I know that we can't treat children like adults, but it isn't correct to give them a false perception of reality either. While participation is definitely commended in high school years and beyond, those who actually earn something are those who succeed and are recognized. A lot of people think that participation awards help encourage children to keep involvement in an activity, but like the article mentions, kids are smart enough to know the difference. I think the best way to instill a sense of self confidence in children to teach them how to deal with success and failure.
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Oliver
9/10/2015 09:07:50 am
I agree with you Divya. I think that the difference between success and failure is very important to teach kids.
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Anna Mae
9/10/2015 09:51:22 am
I agree with you, Divya. If kids are always rewarded for failing, they will start to think its okay.
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Neha Gandra
9/10/2015 09:45:23 pm
Divya, I agree with your point about teaching kids how to deal with success AND failure. Both act as important learning experiences in one's life.
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Madeline
9/10/2015 11:14:33 pm
I like your point about success being a combination of participation and effort. Simply showing up does not guarantee success, but you must be in the race to win the race.
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Hannah Craig
9/13/2015 05:46:18 pm
I love your point about success being a combination of participation and effort. I feel like this is often overlooked when considering the issue.
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Reeshma
9/14/2015 08:47:11 am
Divya, I think that what you said about kids knowing the difference between a participation trophy vs. and achievement award is true, but I think it is only true for kids who are older than 8 or 9. From watching my brother and sister (and I think they are a little intelligent) they were both excited just to get something that looked fancy when they participated in activities. They eventually learned what real life is like, but at the time they could tell the differemce and were excited to continue tennis, swimming, and soccer.
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Deanna
9/14/2015 01:43:17 pm
I agree we can't protect kids from failure in life no matter how hard we try. It is important that we teach them how to deal with it.
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Stephania
9/18/2015 05:40:19 pm
I also believe that children need to learn that effort isn't everything and you won't just win because of it; other factors play in, such as luck. The earlier this lesson is learned, the easier later life will be.
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Madeline Chen
9/10/2015 10:58:41 pm
Personally, I think participation trophies should not be given out. I understand both teams receiving trophies in the finals game of a tournament because you have to win multiple games to get there. However, as Ricky Bobby put it best, "if ya ain't first ya last". Giving everyone a trophy for participating takes away from the children who truly win. By giving these "trophies" out, we are less making kids feel like "winners" (every kid knows losing is not winning) and more making kids feel that winning is pointless if "everyone wins anyways". This being said it is somewhat leading to the "wussification of America". If winning means nothing and kids get rewarded for losing they will lose the competitive drive to win. In the long run this can be harmful, for the world needs winning ideas to keep moving forward.
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Hannah Craig
9/13/2015 05:45:10 pm
Madeline, I agree with your point about both teams getting trophies in a finals game of a tournament. I do think it is important to reward hard work, and the final teams would have had to beat many teams to get where they are.
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Ramya Erasala
9/18/2015 08:16:23 pm
I like what you said about participation trophies taking away from the winners. I hadn't really thought about it in that way. Making people feel like less of a winner would be a horrible feeling, especially for a kid.
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Anna Mae
9/11/2015 07:05:32 am
Growing up playing sports (and not being the best at 99% of what I played), I was showered with "You Tried!" and "Good Sport!". I hated them, they reminded me that I didn't actually do anything and that they felt so bad for the losers like me that we got trophies. I think the reason I didn't succumb to mentality of wussification was because I also won a lot or received nothing. However, I do understand the argument that rewarding a child for "trying" can reenforce the notion that it's okay to win. I think there needs to be a balance, even though that would be hard to regulate and manage. There does need to be positive feedback given to the children, so they will keep trying. Just maybe not a trophy.
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Zahra
9/12/2015 06:34:51 pm
I can totally relate to you on the "You tried" ribbons and such that all sports places gave out. I also totally agree with the idea of balance: you've got to find that point between the positive feedback and the competitiveness.
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Alex Breuhan
9/16/2015 08:12:34 am
I agree that participation trophies can be condescending. They are just a replacement for positive feedback, which I agree is better than a cheap plastic medal. A balance is probably the best solution.
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Camille
9/18/2015 11:04:12 pm
I agree with what you've said Anna Mae, that there should be some sort of positive reenforcement, maybe just not a trophy. I think producing so many plastic trophies that will be eventually thrown out is very wasteful, but I think the positive reenforcement that a trophy provides is important in the development of a child. As long as that reenforcement is still happening, I'd be fine with nixing the participation trophy.
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Andrea Bartlett
9/12/2015 11:38:20 am
Honestly I don't think is a bad thing. I do not like the whole trophy idea, but that does not mean we shouldn't encourage the children to do better or show them that trying their best is the most important thing. This sounds funny but personally I find all the participation trophies bad for the environment. They end up being thrown away or forgotten about because they weren't given for skill or talent. Most kids as they grow up find them embarrassing and don't want to have them around. WE shouldn't discourage participation though and effort. Although you don't always win an award, and receive that participation medal it doesn't mean you didn't try or put effort in. Their have been many times when I haven't received first place, (states for science Olympiad is a great example) but that doesn't mean I didn't try hard to get there. I think what embarrasses children the most is when they are called up to the stage to be given a participation award. We need to encourage participation and effort in a way that does not make kids embarrassed or feel bad about themselves.
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Zahra
9/12/2015 06:31:35 pm
Before commenting on the article itself, I just want to make a note on one of the comments that someone left on the npr site: "I own a trophy shop. Everyone should get a trophy. EVERYONE!" XD XD
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Hannah Craig
9/13/2015 05:43:05 pm
I, personally, am not entirely opposed to participation trophies, if they are given in the right situations. For example, when I was younger, my siblings and I participated in our churches pinewood derby every year. My older brother and I would always fight for first place, since they gave the biggest trophy to the fastest car and a smaller trophy to the runner up. No one else received a trophy, instead they all got participation ribbons. To me, this is fine, because children aren't being told that just showing up is enough. None of the participants went home happy with their white ribbons, because they didn't win the trophy. They don't get a false sense of accomplishment, but still know that showing up is the first step on their road to the big trophy, and they must work harder next time. I am not, however, supportive of the everyone gets the trophy and we tell the kids all people are winners when they are 12 year old middle schoolers who need to begin to understand the real world.
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Reeshma
9/14/2015 08:40:05 am
I think that the participation trophy is a good thing for really little kids. I think that for kids who are a little shy/introverted, or who are trying something new or challenging, the participation award offers encouragemt to be more involved, try something new, or persevere through challenges. And even though in the "real world" we dont necessarily get a trophy or ribbon for participating in things, we gain a new set of knowledge and skills that we didn't have before which is a reward in itself. I don't think that kids have to tough it out in the real world when they are really little. As they grow older they slowly begin to learn how the real world works, and, speaking from experience, I think they'll turn out okay once they realize.
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Sarah Ptashnik
9/16/2015 08:02:43 pm
I agree that the participation trophy would be a good thing for little kids because it shows that involving yourself in something can sometimes result in reward.
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Zach Pozsar
9/19/2015 08:15:02 am
I agree with you Reeshma. For really little kids, it is just a nice thing for them to get a trophy. Regardless of skill at that age, they should be getting a reward because it'll make them happy.
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Deanna
9/14/2015 01:41:05 pm
Personally I do not think that participation trophies are a good thing. The fact that kids are rewarded for participating in something causes them to lack the motivation to try. When your a kid all you want is that shiny trophy and I really do not think they care how they actually get it. You should be rewarded for your achievements. I understand that with little kids you want to boost their confidence and give them a trophy, but they should work hard for it not just be given one cause they showed up to practice that day. I feel like they should no longer be given out.
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Sarah Ptashnik
9/16/2015 08:00:32 pm
I agree that kids should have to work hard for a "trophie". They shouldn't just be handed to them if they showed up to practice that day, like you said.
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Lauren
9/17/2015 12:06:05 pm
I think so too! Confidence is always important, but it should be built up with hard work instead of just being given to kids.
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Stephania
9/18/2015 05:23:00 pm
I like how you brought up the point of winning a trophy not always being the end goal if you worked hard and know you might play to win another day.
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Abhi
9/18/2015 10:48:13 pm
Deanna,
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Alex Breuhan
9/16/2015 08:02:29 am
I've always been ambivalent towards participation trophies. The only time I ever played organized sports outside of elementary school was when I was on a soccer team. I really don't remember if we got medals, I believe we did, but I never cared much for playing sports anyways, so it didn't matter to me if I was a winner or a loser at soccer, not to say others don't feel differently.
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Zahra
9/18/2015 02:12:06 pm
I wanted to comment on your last sentence, that many of our accomplishments end up not being noticed and there's nothing we can do about it. The other day a teacher, I believe it was Rast, that was telling us about this topic. As high school kids we try to do things and get our credit for them so that we can put them on our college apps and such. And while I would be lying if I said I don't do this, we should change try to change our mentalities.
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Reeshma Kumar
9/18/2015 11:47:54 pm
I agree that, if participation awards are to be handed out, the winning trophy should look "cooler" than the participation awards so that there is an incentive to try harder. This way the kids realize that its good that they tried the activity or challenged themselves, but that achieving something better requires hard work and dedication.
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Lauren
9/17/2015 12:04:20 pm
Although it is important for every child to feel a sense of belonging and achievement, creating this falsified accomplishment is not the way to do so. From a young age, kids are supposed to learn how to work hard to achieve their goals, as well as accepting failure at times. These are important life lessons that will impact a person throughout their lives. However, when participation prizes are being given, a child is being rewarded for doing something wrong which in turn leads to operant conditioning. A child will start feeling as though it does not matter what they do because they always win in the end. This will end up hurting a person down the road as they mature because eventually he/she will begin to realize that life is not that simple. The realization of this fact later in life may be more drastic to a person when it means applying for a job or getting accepted into a college than it would if a child were to lose a soccer game. Winning comes with hard work and some bumps in the road, it isn't just handed to you on a silver platter.
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Stephania
9/18/2015 05:07:32 pm
Back when I was in Cross Country, we got participation ribbons. I always hated them. I always felt like they would just take up space in my closet and only served as a reminder as to where I raced (spoiler alert: they did). The one time I got thirteenth place (they wrote the places on the ribbons up to fourteen), I was ecstatic. A real ribbon? For my actual merits? I wasn't insulted; I was happy. I think that every child who doesn't get first or second knows that they're behind, and they don't need a participation award to remind them of the event where they didn't win.
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Neha Kishore
9/18/2015 07:42:36 pm
I think the idea of participation trophies came about with good intentions. Although, in reality, the trophies just serve as objects of humilation these days. It's okay to lose in life, and as the article states you can't always win everything. This is a really important lesson that children need to learn from an early age, and participation trophies almost seem as if they're encouraging young kids to not try as hard because, well, at the end of the day you still get a trophy. However, on the flip side, sometimes you DO try really hard and still lose or just the mere sense of accomplishing the task is a great feat. During these times especially, it's nice for your effort to be acknowledged. For example, if you finish a marathon, that in itself is an amazing accomplishment and deserves to be rewarded, regardless of whether you place or not.
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Ramya Erasala
9/18/2015 08:38:48 pm
I agree that it really depends on the context Neha. There are many things where completing it is an accomplishment in itself. It also is dependent on how hard that person tried, because that can affect how they view that trophy.
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Abhi
9/18/2015 10:46:07 pm
Neha,
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Ramya Erasala
9/18/2015 08:36:37 pm
I have mixed feelings about participation trophies after reading this article. I definitely understand where both sides are coming from in the argument. Even when I was a kid, I was never very proud to get a participation trophy. They just sit in a cabinet in my house. However, I feel like they serve as memorabilia for something that you did. For example, I used to do dance classes and I would perform every year and we would get participation trophies every time. Now when I look at them, I don't think that I danced well or anything, but I remember how much fun I had on stage or which song I was dancing to. I also understand how people could take participation trophies as embarrassing or demeaning because there are certain instances where i have felt that way before. I think the difference between the two scenarios was that in one, everyone got a participation trophy and there was no winners, so it was not anything to be upset about. When there are winners though, they sometimes leave you feeling worse because you know that your efforts only got you a meaningless piece of plastic that everyone except for the winners received. It makes it less of an accomplishment.
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Abhi
9/18/2015 10:43:47 pm
I think that the notion of the participation is good in the theoretical realm, as it is thought to foster a sense of "encouragement" and "tenaciousness" but I feel like it only fosters entitlement and, rather ironically, makes people less persistent and less willing to persevere. I say this because the moment they experience failure, for the first time ever, and are told that they failed, they immediately think to quit. They don't think to work harder, play harder, and eventually triumph, rather they just think to quite that game and move on. While I agree with some of the posts that it could foster encouragement, I, personally, believe that there is a certain thrill with the challenge of overcoming the impossible. And by giving participation trophies, we are simply encouraging the notion of "good-enough" rather than "work to be the best".
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Zach Pozsar
9/19/2015 08:17:31 am
I agree that they might cause people to persevere less. Knowing that a reward is coming, regardless of how you perform, means you won't work as hard.
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Felix
9/27/2015 07:18:37 pm
I really agree with your points there. We should be pushing children to strive for their best - having kids be satisfied with getting a half-assed trophy is not good I think. Because you have to be the best to rise above in today's world.
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Camille
9/18/2015 10:44:00 pm
This article brought up a lot of good points. I am sort of mixed on the issue... I am probably more in favor of getting rid of the participation trophy because I think it's important to learn how to lose. Also, I like what that one user pointed out about it actually embarrassing her when she was called up in front of her school to receive it. Furthermore, I think it's also very wasteful to produce so much plastic trophies that maybe half the kids don't care about, and will end up sitting in a dusty closet somewhere because all it is is a participation trophy. However, I also happen to know that even a participation trophy means a lot to some people. For example, The Miracle League. These kids love playing a friendly game of baseball, and at the end of each game, it's always a "tie", regardless of which team really won. I think this is very important in this circumstance because competition/winning or losing can actually really hurt certain special needs kids self esteem. Also, for kids that may not have a lot of confidence/friends, or kids that may not do a lot of activities, a participation trophy means a great deal. This is why it's hard for me to say that participation trophies should be eliminated all together, because I know it truly means a lot for some people. While 9/10 players on a team may not care about it, there could be one player that it means the world to, and he/ she will always treasure it because it marks their accomplishment.
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Zach Pozsar
9/19/2015 08:24:10 am
I am not a huge fan of participation trophies. I am completely fine with them when the situation involves little kids. When I was a little kid, I played soccer. I liked it and thought it was fun, and I was so excited to get a trophy even though I wasn't the best. But, when it comes to participation trophies for people who aren't really young, I think differently. These trophies teach people that you can win without hard work and I think that is wrong. Nothing in life is going to come easily, so apart from a very young age, we shouldn't be getting a participation trophy.
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Sarah Ptashnik
9/20/2015 04:52:54 pm
I don't really know how to feel about participation trophies. I think they can be good only under certain circumstances. I think they are good for little kids because they definitely show kids at an early age that when you work hard at something you can be rewarded. I think this really encourages them. I think they are bad for people our age and older because we've already learned through life that if you want something you have to work hard to get it. Its not fair for two people to be rewarded the same thing if one person worked their butt off and the other person just sat around not working as hard.
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Jack Hines
9/20/2015 06:19:21 pm
I've gotten plenty of participation trophies over the years, whether it was from soccer, basketball, or whatever. I believe that participation trophies are important to have for little kids because it always them to feel like they accomplished something even though they might not have done all that well. That being said I think there should be an age limit of some kind to participation trophies.After like 12 awards should be based on merit and achievement rather than simply participating, because that's how the real world works(I do find it ironic that we are talking about the "real world' when we are high school students from Northville).
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Molly Bis
9/21/2015 12:02:28 am
I am not in favor of the idea of participation trophies, unless it is for very little kids. I think that it is perfectly acceptable to give little soccer kids participation trophies at the ages of 4 and 5 because at that point soccer is purely a game to them with little competition involved because they do not yet understand it. This will make them happy, and encourage them to continue with sports. However, when you start to get to the older ages of 8 and 9 and handing out participation trophies, it's nice, but I believe that in the long run it may hurt the child and the child's skill at the sport. If a child is given a participation award (using an example where everyone on the team gets one and there is no "first place"), they may then fail to have the drive to better their skill in the sport because, what does it matter if they get better, they'll still get the same trophy anyway?
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Felix
9/27/2015 07:16:03 pm
I never really liked participation medals. I think they are okay if everybody gets the same participation medal; then nobody feels like they did worse than the others and the medals are in good fun. however, if it is an event where there are actual winners, like in a pretty competitive environment, participation medals never felt good to get because it was like blatantly pointing out that you did not do as good as the winning team. I love the fierce competition in sports and the adrenaline rush of winning or losing a good game and getting the trophy should really count.
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