Zone1 Participation Awards.

Do you support Participation Awards.

  • Yes in all cases

  • No, never

  • Yes with kids before middle school

  • Yes with kids up to middle school


Results are only viewable after voting.
you cannot complete the season if you do not make the team.
at the school I went to you had to go beyond completing the season,, I dont remember excactly but you had to play in so many game and start at least one,,

not everyone that completed the season got a letter,,
 
They get the letter for participating in the sport for a whole season.

How is that not a participation award?
You are receiving recognition that you made the team and completed the season.

Just like Army Rangers all received a maroon berets. It wasn't a gift...it was earned through skill, hard work and dedication.
 
You are receiving recognition that you made the team and completed the season.

Yes.

And at the end of the 6 year old soccer season they all get a ribbon or trophy in recognition that they made the team and completed the season. Yet the lawmakers of NC would outlaw this for some odd reason.
 
Making a team and participating, yes. That requires an identifiable degree of effort and commitment.

Just showing up for an event, no.

Teaching kids that they deserve something extra just for showing up sends exactly the wrong message. We've spent the last few generations lowering standards, and we're already in enough trouble as a predictable result.
 
Examples of participation medals? You don't know about this? You started a thread about it.

The only participation medals/awards I know of are those given to young kids at the end of a season.

Do you have some other examples you could actually link to?

Then I guess we could add in finishers medals that marathons give out if that would make you happy.
 
There is a different thread out there about the state of NC perhaps outlawing any award not based on identified performance achievements by any entity receiving any government funding.

Without going into if such a law should be passed, what are your views on Participation Awards. These would include everything from the whole 6 year old soccer team getting a ribbon at the end of the year to High Schools giving out letters and the sports attachments that go on them.

The hubbub around "participation awards" is about a lot more than the award. It's about coddling kids feelings of disappointment so that, in essence, they never ARE disappointed.

I started teaching in the mid-90s. A few years after all this stuff got going. It went down to the level of don't play elimination games with kids, where everyone is "out" but there's one "winner" at the end. Why? "Getting out hurts feelings".

I wish I were kidding. I am not.

Even as a young teacher I knew this was complete crap. (No profession buys into complete crap like mine, which is another story). I watched my students love and gain confidence playing these games so we kept on. Well, the generation that was told all about their "hurt feelings" is now an utter, anxious, miserable mess. They are having trouble launching. I wonder why?

Getting "out" of a game at 6 yrs old is how you learn to handle disappointment when you're 10, and 16, and 24. But robbed of that and coddled, these kids never had it until college.

Ask college counseling centers how that's going.

I think I could actually write a book, but I'll stop there.

BTW, these are games of pure luck. There is no skill involved. IF the little song ends on you, you're out. That's it.
 
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The only participation medals/awards I know of are those given to young kids at the end of a season.

Do you have some other examples you could actually link to?

Then I guess we could add in finishers medals that marathons give out if that would make you happy.
You appear to be saying that you don't think they even exist. I guess I'm a little stunned.

Okay. Since I'm on the "internet", I used "Google", and typed "participation medals for against" in the search area. Then I hit "enter". This is what came up.


Looking through a couple of articles, I saw a few linked examples so that you won't have to take my word for it. I'm sure that will help.
 
A new fun parenting trend:

Letting your child have complete "bodily autonomy". It started with you don't HAVE to hug grandma if you don't want to. Now, when you take your sick kid to the doctor, your kid doesn't HAVE to open their mouth to let the doctor look inside.

PS A couple of drs responded to the Twitter thread on this and said they have faced this situation and have told parents, "Fine. I can't treat your child."

 
A new fun parenting trend:

Letting your child have complete "bodily autonomy". It started with you don't HAVE to hug grandma if you don't want to. Now, when you take your sick kid to the doctor, your kid doesn't HAVE to open their mouth to let the doctor look inside.

PS A couple of drs responded to the Twitter thread on this and said they have faced this situation and have told parents, "Fine. I can't treat your child."


Every generation tires to reinvent the wheel. This seems to be some attempt to be the opposite of helicopter parents.

But, the doctors have the right answer, send them off to find another doctor if they will not do what is asked of them
 
Every generation tires to reinvent the wheel. This seems to be some attempt to be the opposite of helicopter parents.

But, the doctors have the right answer, send them off to find another doctor if they will not do what is asked of them

Nah the opposite of the helicopter parents were free range parents. But snitches called the cops on them for, say, letting their seven year old ride his bike around the block.

Sometimes I hate it here.
 
You appear to be saying that you don't think they even exist. I guess I'm a little stunned.

Okay. Since I'm on the "internet", I used "Google", and typed "participation medals for against" in the search area. Then I hit "enter". This is what came up.


Looking through a couple of articles, I saw a few linked examples so that you won't have to take my word for it. I'm sure that will help.

Your links more or less support what I have been saying.

From the first one...

Who Receives Participation Trophies?

There is no age limit on who can receive participation trophies.

Participation trophies are handed out to every age group for multiple types of activities such as marathons, sports leagues, competitions, or recitals.

It’s most common to find participation trophies handed out to children eight and under, as it seems to be effective for this age range.

Once kids are between the age of eight to twelve, they start to lose excitement for receiving a participation trophy and don’t feel the beneficial effects or joy associated with receiving a participation award.



I have a few finisher medals from marathons I ran. They are a way to commemorate the event as well as the months of training that goes into preparing for a marathon. I guess these should be done away with as well. Maybe the Govt can outlaw them also
 
Your links more or less support what I have been saying.

From the first one...

Who Receives Participation Trophies?

There is no age limit on who can receive participation trophies.

Participation trophies are handed out to every age group for multiple types of activities such as marathons, sports leagues, competitions, or recitals.

It’s most common to find participation trophies handed out to children eight and under, as it seems to be effective for this age range.

Once kids are between the age of eight to twelve, they start to lose excitement for receiving a participation trophy and don’t feel the beneficial effects or joy associated with receiving a participation award.



I have a few finisher medals from marathons I ran. They are a way to commemorate the event as well as the months of training that goes into preparing for a marathon. I guess these should be done away with as well. Maybe the Govt can outlaw them also
The government has no place in this. All they offer are band aids.

This is a cultural problem.
 
No to the OP's question.

I believe in rewarding folks (young and old) for working hard, practicing, and perfecting whatever they seek to be good at. A student who studies hard; seeks to understand a topic; and "aces" a test should get an A+. The student who doesn't open a book and wastes time watching TV or playing video games who fail the same test should get an F.

That same principle applies to everything else in life as well. Just showing up isn't enough to prompt a "participation" trophy. All that does is foster a false sense of worth in an otherwise worthless person.
 

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