The Observation Deck

I was just at Lincolns track and field day where it was discouraged to even tell the kids who won what events. There were no prizes and no official results. I saw kids, especially the older boys asking, "did I win" to each other, but the teachers stayed out of it. I called some of the other schools and found that some, like Grant still give ribbons and recognize winners, and other schools like Horace Mann have stopped having track & field altogether!

Does anyone have any thoughts pro or con on the issue of whether kids should compete at any level? If not elementary should they at middle school? Should the rangers football team just start playing for fun too?

I think that's ridicluous, with all the bad things in the world today it's funny how rules and concepts can make it even worse. I remember getting ribbons and trophies as a child for sports and it was a great feeling of accomplishment. If the thought behind this new process is how the kids who don't finish first feel... get real, the world can be harsh and if you can't learn to deal with not coming out on top as a child there will be no hope in the future.

/getoffsoapbox

during my time at HMMS there was no track and field.

But I still have my ribbons from my two years participating in the McKinley track and field day!

My kids are at Grant and yes they do still give ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. They also give out participation ribbons. I think its good for kids to be competitive and also for kids to understand they are not always going to win. Real life also needs to be taught. When when we stop recognizing success in our children or try to shield them from their failures we are doing a great disservice to them. I love my children but some of them are better at certain things. All people are unique in their talents. I know that this is a small thing but it is an example of what our society has become. That's just my two cents.

I called the board of education and learned that it is completely up to the school principal and the gym teacher to decide how to do track & field days or whether to have them at all. I also called the principal of Lincoln, Mrs. Hazen. She is a very nice lady and a great person from my conversations with her in the past and what I have heard. I was very surprised to hear her say she didn’t not like the idea of ribbons or even participation awards to give to the children. She said that competition does not bring out the best it just opens the door for kids to get hurt. I asked her when she felt kids should learn that in real life you can fail and you can win, and she said she doesn’t think about that because she just deals with Lincoln, and she wants it to stay non-competitive.

I was never a great athlete but I sure remember how exciting it was having an official track & field day with a starting gun and everything. I didn’t win much, but people need to have the opportunity to try don't they?

Are we raising a bunch of children that when they fail in life will be shocked that there actually are winners and losers and they have to personally change and get better to become a winner??

I would really like to see some other parents step up and at least get 1st place and participation ribbons back. If it is a funding issue I know we could get the money donated.

This post brings to mind a few different thoughts:

*I don't have a beef with the principal's decision. The emphasis of grade school sports should be on participation, not competition. Middle school is the time to shift towards competitiveness. Kids should be learning about success and failure via their report cards....when you're little, sports time should be for fun, to learn new skills and make friends.

*Parents are the main problem with youth sports today. Too many of them think they have the next Lebron/Tiger Woods/etc. on their hands, and have nothing better to do than harass coaches. Some of the behavior at little league games around the county (and here in NEO) is downright embarrassing.

*In my role with the Observer, I have spoken quite a bit with new Lakewood AD Bob Thayer. He is working with the rec department to put a lot more emphasis on youth and middle school sports. For example, I believe the middle schools will return to having separate football teams next year. I think this is a good idea and should pay dividends for many LHS sports in the future.

*Regarding track and field, we have a difficult time getting stories or results for the paper. Joe Ott tried to get results for the last issue, but to no avail. The sport of track and field is absolutely dying in America....no TV coverage, no big names, no press coverage. Therefore I'm not surprised that some schools may not even have the sport.

I agree that too many parents think they have the next Tiger Woods on their hands, but does that mean we should totally abandon competition? We had races when I was in elementary school with ribbons. I don't think I ever won a place ribbon, but big deal. This year two of my kids got ribbons the others didn't, big deal. Nobody cried about it because I don't emphasize always winning, but what I do emphasize is trying your best. When you eliminate rewards for success there is no longer a reason to even try.

Mike mentioned report cards and that that is where the emphasis should be but in elementary schools the grading system is changing. In a meeting we were told report cards shouldn't be how we measure our children's success. They are doing away with letter grades, how exactly is that teaching children to succeed?

I really worry that when we eliminate all competition we will end up with a group of adults that expect the world to be given to them on a silver platter because they are all winners. Sorry that is not realistic.

Sorry to rant and rave. And for the record my kids are probably mediocre at best in athletics, but they still play because it's fun, they get exercise and of course practice makes perfect. Let's do our kids a favor and give them a push every now and then and of course let them know it's okay to not always win. Have them cheer on a friend or a classmate when they succeed, that is how we will raise a generation that isn't always thinking ME, ME, ME.

Once again just my two cents and my observations on child rearing.

Mike,

Should we get rid of children's board games like chutes and ladders and candyland because they are competitive and they have winners?

Also - I heard that the reason that Horace Mann stopped was not due to student popularity but because 3 teacher complained they didn't like standing outside all day and it wasn't part of the curriculum.

I learned a lot in school that I have forgotten, but I still remember track and field days, even in elementary school.

Lets not water down the event to make it less memorable than a visit to the park, and lets not let lazy teachers take away something great altogether.

Noone is talking about Chutes and Ladders or high school football.
We are talking about grade school activities.

You guys seem to think that egos are being artificially inflated by not making this competitive. One can just as easily argue that by handing out ribbons you will create delusional children (and even worse, parents) that think their kids won't need to study becasue they're on their way to an athletic scholarship and/or a professional career.

Frankly, I doubt anyone's ego is getting to inflated one way or another. The kids should be having fun, and more importantly, they should be getting into shape. Too often it's the parents that ruin the fun by trying to live through their children.

Ryan Salo wrote:Should the rangers football team just start playing for fun too?

That's what they're doing isn't? I mean they aren't trying to win are they? Just kidding. Just kidding. Back off.

Competition is good. What bothers me though is the wannabe jock fathers that scream at the kids because they aren't perfect athletes and maybe don't so do well. That's sad. Geez, they're just little kids. Just have fun.

I think in elementary schools it should be more about having fun - here's a novel idea, have the gym teachers teach how to play the games... In junior high they should learn to compete a little and see what lays ahead in life (competition!). In high school they should be grown up enough to handle wining and losing.

Just my worthless opinion.
Joe

Joe

Apparently my elementary class was more advanced than most. Our gym teacher spent weeks teaching us sprints, long runs, relay races, shot put and long jump. We picked which events we wanted to participate in and they made a big deal out of it with announcements and an awards ceremony. It was an amazing day, with some winning and others just having fun. If any of the kids were "crushed" they need to get thick skin and elementary school is a great time to get it before all the puberty changes and mean kids in middle school and high school.

I guess the kids you are referring to have no drive, don't like recognition and don't like to practice.

I asked my 2 kids today, who participated in "track & field" if they would have liked ribbons, they both said that would have been great. They also would have liked to have practiced some of these "games" first, some they had never played or seen in class before.

Life is competitive and merit based in almost everything but government jobs, especially teaching, isn't that interesting... Those that don't need to perform are teaching kids that they don't need to either.

Show me some evidence that competition in elementary school is bad.

From a retired teacher:

It's not that competition is bad, but over the years, I think that educators have learned that developmental readiness can be an important key to success in later life. Someone last chosen for a baseball game remembers that, years later. The stigma of being the school's strike-out king or queen might scar a lifetime's self-esteem. I would think that competitive skills require that first, the skills of the games be taught, developed, and rules clearly understood, before the competitive factor is introduced.

Even when competition is introduced, care must be taken that "winning and losing" are neither overblown triumphs, or tragedies, in and of themselves. It's the game participation itself, I believe, where true character is built.

I would imagine that professional athletes know this very well. Elementary students could learn it too. It's just that in the past, it seems that all too often, problems come up. It has been my experience that parents' attitudes are sometimes reflected through their children, as well.

As for "lazy teachers"? Remember that teachers have responsibilities apart from their scheduled student contact time. Field day planning requires careful personnel management attention in order to be successful.

Add to that, the issue that no one; staff, or student, should be out under the sun for too long, at least in my opinion. I would think that there would need to be shade available, water breaks, and scheduled rest times.

So there are many complex factors involved with planning these activities. Ribbons, awards, and all might be great recognitions and remembrances, or symbols of inequality and inequity, depending upon how they are handled.

By the way, ongoing performance evaluations are very much a part of a teacher's life. I cannot imagine why people might feel otherwise.

We have been lucky at Grant to have wonderful staff. The kids are taught the events before track and field day. They are able to practice before the event. The teachers and parents are there to be time keepers. It's a fun event and they also happen to give out ribbons. Perhaps we are just lucky, but our event shows (to me at least) that you can have a successful competitive event. I also think the key to it's success is it is about fun first. I know that none of my children will ever be a professional athlete, we just are not an athletic family, but I want them to play sports, learn skills, have fun and also along the way learn sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Hopefully I'm raising well adjusted kids that will be prepared for the real world.

Danielle Masters wrote: have fun and also along the way learn sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

That's the key.

So if some school's gym teachers can handle a success track & field day, why can't others? I think Grant is the perfect example for other schools, it is just a shame that so many others have let a few teachers ruin it for the kids.