I've decided that I'm tired of people rewarding mediocrity, and sometimes outright failure. When I was playing little league, we always gave the other team three cheers after the game as a show of sportsmanship, but if we didn't earn a trophy or medal then we didn't get one. Only once did I ever receive a trophy that said "Participant," and my Dad was very careful to make sure to put it in perspective for me.
Now we have a society where the most important thing is positive reinforcement, even in the face of utter failure. It's so important for kids not to feel down about themselves that they're not learning the value of feeling good. How are the kids of today ever supposed to learn the lessons that we all learned about the value of working hard for something, when they can get something almost equivalent just for showing up?
Awards and accolades need to be earned by excelling, not granted for attending.
Now we have a society where the most important thing is positive reinforcement, even in the face of utter failure. It's so important for kids not to feel down about themselves that they're not learning the value of feeling good. How are the kids of today ever supposed to learn the lessons that we all learned about the value of working hard for something, when they can get something almost equivalent just for showing up?
Awards and accolades need to be earned by excelling, not granted for attending.