In my opinion, competition is an integral element of an adolescent’s development. By competing with peers and others, one is able to evaluate oneself. At times, though, it is evident that competition may prove detrimental to the teen as pressure and stress often co-exist. From personal experience, I have seen that in many cases in school settings (academic and athletics) administrations are beginning to accept an "everyone wins" policy. That is to say, that everyone gets a pat on the back for trying. Now, I believe that it should be recognized, however the element of competition forms well rounded human beings. Everyone needs to feel both winning and losing.
One of the most pervasive forms of competition is that which takes place in the academic setting. This type of competition is often individual and emphasizes personal intelligence and determination. At other times, parents and teachers foster academic competition among students. And often, competition openly exists between students. For example, there are usually elections for leadership positions in student groups. As teachers, one of the greatest questions we face is that which surrounds assessment. Obviously we must do some form, but to what extent?
Teens respond in a variety of ways to academic competition. Some thrive on the intensity and use it as a motivating force while other youth step aside and are wary of the increasing pressure. Many students perceive more intense competitive feelings during the college application process. In relation to classes, competition may become more intense, and students often compare grades and standardized test scores. Some students may become stressed and distraught by performance they perceive to be substandard. Others may become increasingly motivated to work harder to improve their grades. Reactions to these events are entirely individual. As teachers, then, how do we both instill competition and not put emphasis on it? As mentioned before, for many grades and competition are a huge part of the college/university application, but others do not strive for this. What do we do?
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This is an interesting topic. I think it is important for us as teachers to encourage healthy competition among students. I believe this causes students to become more aware of their academic standing and encourages them to strive for success. I remember back to my high school days and competition among my more academic group of friends was a huge part of at least my grade 12 year. I remember comparing grades on papers and test scores with my peers which often pushed me to achieve higher grades. For me it was always a source of positive motivation. I think it is essential that students become exposed to competition, especially in their high school careers. The more experience they have with it the better they will be able to respond when they make the transition into college, university, or "the real world". We have to realize that competition exists not only in school, but also when students are looking for employment opportunities after graduation.
One issue that is linked to this topic of competition is that of Provincially Examinable courses. I just learned today in my Adolescent Psychology class that students applying to Uvic no longer need to have 4 Provincially Examinable courses to gain entrance. This comes a quite a shock to me as the standard has existed for so long. I remember it being beaten into us in high school that students who hoped to attend university would need to take 4 such courses and do very well in them to make it through the application process. This naturally caused students to make the extra effort required to get good grades in the courses; their future depended on it. With the lack of such a requirement I wonder what is now motivating students to strive for academic greatness.
Very complex topic - well done! I will through out a few questions about competition in general - there is some competition in 'real life' but mostly if you choose to be a part of those communities.
Competition is so dominant because of the aspects in society that continue to value it: professional sports, consumerism and comparison to your neighbour, politics, university, video games (most media), etc.
Think about living in a developing country where competition is replaced by the need for survival and the need to help each other out more often than not...is competition as important there? So although our society often values it so much, is it what we want to be promoting with our students?
Self improvement, finding a career that fits your personality (rather than competing with others to just do a 'better than you' career), being content with what is important in life (fill in the blank _____)seem to be important aspects for students to strive towards and yet more challenging to achieve than being competitive. And by high school, like has been mentioned, many students have bought heavily into competition as motivation and a way of being in many aspects of their lives.
One last question - what percentage of high school students do you think are going on to university experiences?...
Thanks for raising this question - I find it really challeging to articulate my thoughts on it!!
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