Losing Is Good For You

[earthfriendly]

I enjoyed reading this article. Maybe you will too? The public school system tries really hard to equalize the playing field. No child left behind = No child gets ahead. We all end up being average.


" In life, “you’re going to lose more often than you win, even if you’re good at something,”

[x9200]

People on diet may have different view.

[BedokAmerican]

Interesting article. Makes sense. Trophies can be costly. One thing my elementary school did was give out ribbons for sporting contests (100-yard dash, long jump, etc) and academic contests like the science fair or spelling bee. First place, second place, third place and everyone else got a ribbon that said "participant."

But, yeah, I agree what the article says that kids can see through the process by the time they're about 5. Clearly not everybody was a winner. The same kids who do well at sports consistently do well at sports year after year. The same with academics.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Don't know about the dieting x, you and I both know that we do it only if we 'want' to. And we celebrate every 10/5/1 kg (depending on how much we have to lose but it's our own little goals. The final goal is getting back into that favourite pair of jeans you wore the first year in University! For a girl, it might be the ability to attract the odd pair of wandering eyes again!

But to award everybody just for participating, to me, is preposterous.

[ScoobyDoes]

My son's school had an open day a month or two back and it was quite funny, in a very dark sort of way.

The number of kids that went home crying after not winning anything from the 'Lucky Draw' was a lesson on truths. Watching classmates get the bicycle, laptop or tickets to Universal was one thing, but losing as we did, by just one friggen number took the crumbs.

Ah well, I'm glad I'm old enough to have learned the hard way when kids' feelings were never though of and smacks around the head did more good than harm harm harm harm. In many ways I'm pleased SG is still quite far behind the namby pampy soft touches in Europe and the US

[the lynx]

My son's school had an open day a month or two back and it was quite funny, in a very dark sort of way.

The number of kids that went home crying after not winning anything from the 'Lucky Draw' was a lesson on truths. Watching classmates get the bicycle, laptop or tickets to Universal was one thing, but losing as we did, by just one friggen number took the crumbs.

Ah well, I'm glad I'm old enough to have learned the hard way when kids' feelings were never though of and smacks around the head did more good than harm harm harm harm. In many ways I'm pleased SG is still quite far behind the namby pampy soft touches in Europe and the US

Lucky draw is the worst thing to teach young children about winning/losing with own effort.

[ScoobyDoes]

Lucky draw is the worst thing to teach young children about winning/losing with own effort.

Correct, but the principle is the same.....there are more losers than winners and simply turning up doesn't guarantee a return.