C: We’ve almost made it guys! Only a few more days until it’s acceptable to sleep until 11 a.m., play in the snow until our fingers are frozen to the tips and we can drink hot chocolate to our heart’s content. Winter break is a good time to acknowledge our hard work and give us a reward no matter how we’re doing in school. Leah, big plans for the break?
L: I’m going skiing and I know you’re excited for your cruise to the Bahamas! But wait a second, Cecilia, what do you mean we get a reward “no matter how we’re doing in school?” You think just because someone shows up to school they deserve a prize? Participation trophies do nothing but reinforce bad behavior and water down competition.
C: Leah, now I see why you have such a bad mindset and cry yourself to sleep every night. The point of participation trophies isn’t to award the most valuable player or best teammate, it’s to recognize everyone who played a part in their activities. For example, think about a sports team who worked hard all season, grinded almost everyday in order to achieve their goals and never took days off. But this team ended up losing in the first round of the playoffs. You’re telling me that you think NO ONE on that team deserves a trophy? They worked as hard as they could but couldn’t come up with it in the end, and I think the team truly does deserve something recognizing that effort.
L: Cecilia, let’s be real here: we’re not all winners. Case in point: you. By giving everyone a trophy or prize instead of properly recognizing the winner, you prevent true feelings of competition and thus reinforce the idea that you don’t need to perform at your full potential to get a reward. Yes, losing sucks, but it’s a good opportunity to learn from your mistakes and get motivation to work harder the next time, thereby reducing laziness. Ohhhh, now I understand why you are the way you are!
C: What? My mom says I’m perfect! I think it’s because as a young child I tried so many activities: sports, science classes, Model UN or piano lessons. I got the chance to try unique and fun hobbies and see what interested me. And although they were all very different, all of them had one thing in common: each year culminated with every child receiving an award. Although I didn’t stick with everything I did as a kid, I think the awards are what boosted my attitude and pushed me to pursue some of them as I got older.
L: But here’s the important question Cecilia: did you do those activities because you truly wanted to or because you wanted to get an award? Kids (as well as teenagers and adults) should be encouraged to do activities because they WANT to, not because there is going to be some sort of external validation that is not a true reflection of their performance. Participation trophies prevent individuals from experiencing failure, adversity and disappointment — all of which are important life experiences that teach you valuable lessons — and therefore awards should be given to those who truly deserve them.
C: Well Leah, it’s a good thing we write for The Observer, because the paper is truly an award for everyone. We give out awards every month to staff members who write the best article and do the best job at production, but honestly we want to give awards to every staff member for all the hard work and time they put into the paper every single day. Every issue we strive to write stories that every reader can enjoy and we’re so grateful for every single one of our readers, you all get a trophy!
