Do you agree with the author of the article that "nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve."? Is too much recognition bad for students? Should we, as a society, focus more on accomplishments or participation/effort? Use information from the article to support your argument.
I do think that over recognition is bad. For the past decade or two, you are guaranteed a participation award for signing up. When my parents and their siblings were young, (a long time ago) they were almost all playing in a sports league. My Dad is the envy of all his siblings because he is the only one who ever got a trophy (his team got to playoffs). Just to reinterate, I have about 10 trophies on a shelf, each for one of the little leage teams I was in.
ReplyDeleteWhile over recognition is often bad, I don't think that we shouldn't recognize effort. I was just recently told a story where the guy I was listening to was a little kid. He was saying that in something like the first grade, everyone in the class had to write a short story. He put a lot of effort and creativity into it, but he just couldn't write on the lines. His words would go out of the margins and even off of the page itself. When he gave it to his teacher, the teacher looked at it, looked back at him, and gave him a look as if to say "What the f*** is this?" But instead of saying something like that, the teacher just smiled and said "Good job." He loved doing short stories after that.
My point is that the idea that hard work and effort will get you far should be drilled into kids minds. I'm sure most people reading this can relate to the the life style that I've had for most of my life. I would pay attention in class, do my homework the period before, never have to study for tests, and still get 100s on tests, get inNJHS, get in High Honor Roll, and never have to worry about school. Now I actually have to work hard to get anything. I wish I learned that years ago.
I totally agree i mean if you are constantly rewarded you will eventually feel as if you don't even need to try
DeleteI agree with Edward over recognition is bad because it gives you the idea that you don't have to work hard or do anything if you know that in the end you will get an award. When you usually get an award it shows that your effort and dedication to push yourself and succeed has ended up with you achieving your goals but, if you get one for just being there not doing anything because in our mind you know you'll get something out of it just encourages laziness. Too much of something is never good it should be done on some occasions not all or else people will have a false sense of accomplishment and when they apply this to other aspects of their lives where they do the same thing and compare with others they may see that they are not at that level and will end up failing rather than succeeding. I also agree that we still should recognize the effort because if you see your hard work is paying off then you will feel better and have even more determination to get better and surpass your previous accomplishments and standards that you have set and break the limitations that you may have once thought you wouldn't be able to overcome.
DeleteNice! Someone saw my post without me announcing it. Good looking out, Ed!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author of the article that “nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve.” Since we got into kindergarten at a very young age, parents and teachers were constantly rewarding us various awards and gifts as special motivations for young kids to inspire us being more devoted and participant into certain activities. This is still happening nowadays. Gradually, we get used to it and almost deem the cheerful recognition as the only reason to study, to take part in sports games, and to join all kinds of clubs, instead of the great accomplishments or the efforts we put in.
ReplyDeleteThis is a big misunderstanding of the purpose of giving out praises and gifts. Unfortunately, sometimes nonstop recognition plays a depressing role in teaching and inspiring. From a study performed by Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, she found that kids respond positively to praise; they enjoy hearing that they are talented, smart and so on. But after such praise of innate abilities, they collapse at the first experience of difficulty.
Demoralized by their failure, they said they would rather cheat than risking failing again. This case teaches us that unlimited and groundless recognitions lead to killing children’s interest and vigor when they meet obstacles after being accustomed to plain sailing.
Moreover, it makes no sense to spend a lot of money buying exquisite trophies every year just to please and attract children’s participation. Nationally, A.Y.S.O. Local branches typically spend as much as 12 percent of their yearly budgets on trophies. Sponsors could use the money to polish the activities themselves to be more interesting.
To reduce the amount of recognitions can make children realize that awards are merely the bonus besides their excellent accomplishments and efforts, not the main reason of being involved in the process of playing and learning. To let them loss more than win can strengthen their minds to be more bearable when they really suffer obstacles in their adulthoods.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the author of “Losing is Good for You” because if everyone was awarded with a trophy just based on effort or even just participating in something it wouldn’t be fair to the people who actually deserve the award for being dedicated to their sport and actually trying their best for the love of the game. Awarding someone for just participating in a sport is a cause for them to underachieve because it gives them the sense that they don’t have to try hard to succeed because at the end of the day they’re going to get an award whether they try or not so you might as well be lazy because there will be no sense of embarrassment if only a certain number of people get awards while the others don’t because everyone will be awarded the same.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that too much recognition is bad for students because if they start to receive too much compliments at what they are good at or what separates their abilities from everyone else’s they start to get too confident in what they do that in the future they feel like they won’t need to try hard because they will think that they are still better than everyone else.
Us as a society should be more focused on accomplishments than participation and effort because in example it wouldn’t be fair for all the students in the eleventh grade to receive scholarships just because they put in the effort to pass with a sixty-five, instead the students who should be awarded scholarships are those who excel in school and accomplish maintaining a high average in all their honors classes.
I just want to say that I also saw the post before today but I did not know if you wanted us to comment. Okay since that is off my chest, I believe that participation awards are not bad for students/players. Sometimes, the only thing a person needs to make themselves feel better is knowing that someone is actually paying attention to them. Personally, I hated those participation awards, it really grinds my gears. However for the person who is not the best student or athlete getting a sticker or paper that says “good job” on it makes them feel like they are on top of the world. It increases their motivation to continue working hard. But if a person just signs up and never goes to thing, then that a completely different story. So I disagree with the author, recognition for just participating inspires children to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Mauricio because, yes it is telling a student or athlete "good job", but it isn't giving them the experience of losing. If a person signs up to participate in an extracurricular activity, it does not mean that they automatically deserve a reward. I personally think that only those that truly deserve the award, should receive it. By giving everyone an award, you are keeping children from experiencing loss. When children do not experience simple losses when they are young, then as they become older, they'll become "sore losers". I say this because they are going to automatically expect to get everything they try for and most times that's not the case. Life does not work in the favor of anyone, so teaching them how to lose and move on or to try harder is better than rewarding them for something they don't necessarily deserve. Saying that recognition will inspire them to succeed, does not mean that losing will not inspire them to succeed. Losing will teach them to work harder on reaching that certain thing they are aiming for. What I'm trying to say is that losing can be good, because it'll push they're drive.
DeleteI agree that those "Participation Awards" were nonsense, however I don’t agree with Mauricio’s statement about them being good for those that may not be the best. If you are trying your hardest, and you still don’t receive an award or prize, then that should be your motivation to try even harder next time. Receiving a “Participation Award” is like basically getting an award for showing up, and the more of these kinds of awards that people have, the less value they have to them.
DeleteEven though I believe that “Participation Awards” should not exist, I do believe in the recognition of exemplary work, win or lose. Lets say you were on one of the worst sports team in your league, but you are the sole member trying to carry the team, I would want to recognize that person for his effort and dedication. I feel that if you tried your hardest when no one else would, then that deserves some recognition.
I have to completely agree with Mauricio, these types of awards are actually healthy and help boost the student/plays’ self-esteem, the logic is simple, if you are told that you are doing well, you might be encourage to push yourself harder, yet you also know that you are not a complete failure and that you will not fail. That everyone has the same opportunity so don’t waste it, just do better next time, so that your recognition is also for yourself, and to show what type of play/student you are, and at that point it will be demonstrated within the grade that, that student receives, or the athlete. To show self-respect is also what helps these kids most of the time, because they are the outcast. The ones who aren’t doing well in school, not the athletes or best personality, but the ones who try, and put all their best effort, yet they lack knowledge and true talent. Like myself, which is why I love getting these types of awards. They push me to do better within school or at an event, it encourages people to put their best, yet if you don’t succeed or receive a great note, it doesn't mean that you yourself are a complete failure, you just need to try harder and put more effort.
DeleteI believe losing is good because if you lose once you'll know how it's not the best feeling and with one lost you'll never want to lose again and will always strive to win and do your best. I agree with the author of the article that nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed because they will get use to always being awarded and in the real world when you get older you don't get awarded for everything, you must work hard and earn what you recieve. Being awarded all the time will cause an underachievement because they will get use to always winning and being recognized and won't try as much to do better, they will not stive for the best and settle down to what they have now because they were awarded for it. Too much recognition is not bad for a student because they should be recognized for what they have worked hard for and out their effort it, but only if they deserve it not just because. I believe that yes, as a society we should focus more on accomplishments and effort because someone who has accomplished an important goal and has put all their effort into the accomplishment is someone who as worked very hard for what they really want and have demonstrated with their effort how much they want it and how much it took them to be at the level they may be at recently. It's not good to always lose because someone should have motivation and put effort to win and be a winner, but losing is good because it sets yourself to do good for the next time, motivates you to become a winner and strive for success.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with what the author is saying. Children at young ages are often rewarded with gifts such as "great participation" or "E for Effort" i know this because as a child i received these awards. From personal experience, i developed a sense of pattern, i knew no matter what i did i would at least get some type of "effort" award because i was a child and the teacher wouldn't want to make a child feel as if they weren't good enough. That unfortunately did not prepare me for the realities of middle school. I believe anyone can relate to this. Once you enter a new grade you are expecting to get these "awards" no matter what you do, so you form a sense that you shouldn't even try. I believe we should stop giving these meaningless awards (participation, effort). These are awards that are often rewarded to almost everyone especially to children. If you continuously reward someone for nothing they will feel that they don't have to do anything since they are going to get it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with what the author is saying, children are so prone to the idea of being rewarded for every little thing they do, they begin to slack off and lose intrest in standing out from everyone else. Giving rewards to any and everyone defeats the purpose of rewarding someone. People should be rewarded for their hard work and truly earned achievement. Now, I am not agreeing with the idea of ignoring people who haven't achieved as much because that would lower their esteem and drive to do better. Instead of giving them a reward and trophy for effort, encourage them to do better, inspire them to do better than the people who are being rewarded. Just like the movie, "Meet the Robinson" when someone fails at something you encourage them to do better. It is important to strive for something rather than being rewarded for nothing. Even when a person fails, by them being encourged they'll eventually be successful and then rewarded.
ReplyDeleteIn today's world, competition through sports, academics, technology, and the preforming art/music industry is widely evident. Therefore, for the sake of advancing society, competition and recognition for excellent work and deeds is appropriate. However, i do not believe that over recognition is necessary for people to progress in their fields of study. This is so because by over recognizing an individual’s accomplishments he or she may place even more pressure on themselves to be one of the best or the best, which can sometimes be counterproductive. This can be counterproductive because the person may feel so obligated to succeed in everything they do, that when they fail, they may feel as though they have lost their identity. She may feel that she has failed not only herself, but also the people who have set extremely high expectations her. It is good to set high expectations for yourself and to work to become successful in what you do, however one needs to experience failure in order to learn to be proactive. We are living in a fast paced world where it is difficult for people to accept nothing more than the best from others. However, it may be that a person’s perspective of what success is, may not be the general view in society’s eyes. This keeps people from working as hard as they can and being the best that they can be. This is because when you are under pressure to be the best, you may feel less inclined to listen to yourself and how you feel because you are trying to meet someone else's expectations. As a result it could become difficult to acknowledge your limits or true potential. This may cause more harm than good to one's emotional, physical, or mental state of being. It can be concluded that the media is the greatest contributor to the harmful results of over recognition. Also, every so often we may see people who will not even try to succeed or work to their full potential because they fear the notion of being judged or not meeting an expectation. Underachievement is another harmful result of over recognition. Overall, knowing that you actually need to put effort in your work in order to succeed, participation and effort should awarded more because it may help everyone get to the starting line of the race for success; and so no one would be left behind.
ReplyDeletei believe that it is good to be a loser because if you win all of the time it will seem way too easy and just a normal routine. i agree with the author of the article when he/she says that those whowin all of the time begin to underachieve. Without constantly challenging a child to do more and better themselves, they will settle for only what they can are used to and will become frustrated when they cannot succeed harder obstacles. Awards given to those who participate and try are nice but i don't think it is necessary to give trophies for every little thing. Kids will get used to getting praised for every little thing that they become comfortable with it and expect it to be given to them. Those who don't always win will have the determination and will strive to be at the top compared to those that just are satisfied for "showing up". Losing in life just helps kids to be prepared for rejection in the future instead of getting rewarded every time and not knowing how to deal with losing and how to change the situation around.
ReplyDeleteI concur, Bridgett. A person can become accustomed to winning or being recognized all the time, and may begin to expect this recognition all the time. Losing every now and again is good because a person can strive to do better next time around. It fosters friendly competition, which is, in a way, its own form of motivation. Like, I personally feel that you should not be awarded for something that you were supposed to do. For example, doing good for your community should not be acknowledged through a certificate, it should be acknowledged in the way that people think about you and the overall impact the act had.
DeleteIn this situation I have a split point of view. While yes, it can deter the child from reality if they are continously praised for doing simple work or not continous effort into something. At the same time, not giving a child recognition can make them feel like a failure, and while for some it does motivate them to get better, it's not the same system for each child. Sometimes, giving a child no recognition and rather, recognizing them as a failure can deter them even more and cause them to do even worse in a given situation.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, a participation effort awardcan be good for a child. Even if they know that they didn't do great at something, reciving an award will make them believe that they probably aren't the best, but they can can get better and better. There's no rationality behind the belief that praising a child for his efforts will lead him to becoming vain or haughty. Rather it will boost their confidence, which is an issue that many kids face in today's society. Children are constantly feeling down about themselves without someone reminding them of their potential if they just tried. Leading them to end up depressed later on in life, and nobody wants that for a child.
On the other hand, giving a student TOO much recognition if their work is below par isn't going to help them. Why? Because it will put them in a state of mind that makes them believe that they need not try harder to achieve recognition. And it will do nothing but stunt them from being able to make any progress, thinking everything will be handed to them. And it will lead to the shocking revelation later on in life when recognition isn't handed to them on a silver platter anymore.
So what is to be done? Instead of completely ignoring students and not giving them any recognition at all which will only sadden their little hearts, but at the same time not give them too much recognition that will make them become concieted and snotty. A child should constantly be praised for the efforts they make to keep them in high spirits and keep up their motivation, but help for them to improve should at the same time, always be offered. That's what will help children of today succeed.
I agree with you Ebony because knowing that you actually need to put effort in your work in order to succeed, participation and effort should awarded more because it may help everyone get to the starting line of the race for success; and so no one would be left behind.
DeleteCreeping in here all late and what not… I agree with both ebony and Lobyre; I don’t see losing being a completely negative thing because It’s an opportunity to figure out your strengths and weaknesses from your flaws to become a better person. I don't feel as if anyone is losing anything just gaining a sense of understanding and building on it.
DeleteI completely agree with Ebony. It's good to praise a child for their outstanding achievement, but to constantly brandish them as the epitome of perfection and ignore others who were nearly as successful, isn't a smart decision, because it makes the kids who were awarded for their achievements, believe that everything they do, is consistently going to be flawless & that they do not need to put fourth complete effort. Ignoring those who showcased a substantial amount of effort makes them believe that their attempts were futile compared to those who were recognized for their efforts. As a society, we should recognize accomplishments but also mention and pay attention to the participation & effort that others put out.
DeleteI disagree with the author of the article that "nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed". It's always a good feeling to be reconized at succeeding in something you worked hard for. When students are reconized for their excellence in school it causes them to become more compassionate about their work, because when they get praised by others they have an idea in their head that their work is being held at a certain expectation of high quality work. But loser/failing can also be beneficial for students. Learning from our mistakes can cause us to become more independent. There is nothing uglier than arrogance. To be able to do what you want without relying on other people's opinion is a great characteristic to have. In all i belive that for ourselves we should showcase our accomplishments, and our failures to remind us that winning is good, but so is failing. :)
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