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| How private schools are poisoning young minds with the menace of competition | | Kids don’t need to be losing while they’re children in school, say Experts | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 3: Delhi Public School of Srinagar seems to have been making strenuous efforts in instilling competition among the kids at a very very young age with a recent cross country run conducted for the kids as old as 7 or 8 years a fresh example. Those who stood first, second and third were accorded the prizes while the toddlers who didn’t win were stoically staring at the scenes. The pictures were uploaded by the school later on its Facebook page on April 1.
However, experts and child psychologists term such a trend ruthlessly detrimental to kids’ confidence in the coming years of life. This is akin to sowing the seeds of depression into young minds.
What the experts say:
“Most of us were raised to believe that without competition we would all become fat, lazy, and mediocre. And I used to think that competition could be healthy and fun if we kept it in perspective. But there is no such thing as ‘healthy’ competition. In a competitive culture, a child is told that it isn’t enough to be good. He must triumph over others. But the more he competes, the more he needs to compete to feel good about himself. But winning doesn’t build character; it just lets a child gloat temporarily. By definition, not everyone can win a contest. If one child wins, another cannot. Competition leads children to envy winners, to dismiss losers. Co-operation, on the other hand, is marvelously successful at helping children to communicate effectively, to trust in others and to accept those who are different from themselves. Children feel better about themselves when they work with others instead of against them, and their self-esteem doesn’t depend on winning a spelling test or a Little League game,” American Alfie Kohn, author of No Contest:The Case Against Competition
“There are enough opportunities in life for children to have a disappointment and to learn to handle that. At our school we are helping them to get ready for all stages of life. We don’t need them to be losing while they’re children in our school,” says Elizabeth Morley, Principal of the Institute of Child Study Laboratory School, Toronto, Canada.
“Competition can be a double-edged sword for kids, promoting positive values under the right conditions but creating negative environments that are demotivating under the wrong ones. Competition can be healthy when it provides feedback to kids about their performance and improvement, when winning is not the sole or primary objective, and when kids get to learn about themselves under challenging situations. Under these circumstances, competition can teach invaluable lessons our children do not typically learn in the classroom. Unfortunately, the frequent win-at-all costs mentality associated with many competitive endeavors can undermine children’s motivation and lead them to avoid or even disengage from activities they may otherwise enjoy. It is critical that coaches, educators, and parents work to teach kids these valuable lessons from competition. That way, win or lose, our children will learn, grow, and be better prepared for life, which (like competition) provides highlights, adversity, and continual opportunities to play well with others and treat opponents with dignity and respect,” says John Tauer, Men’s Head Basketball Coach, Professor of Psychology, University of St Thomas, Minnesota.
“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but co-operation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off, “ says the late Franklin D. Roosevelt, former President of the United States. |
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