I have an idea for a game we can replace all sports in K-12 with, it is called, "Tag You're 1st Place Trophy". The rules are simple, every time you get tagged "it" you get a 1st place trophy and told how wonderfully special you are, and how your future boss will praise you no matter what kind of job you perform.
Oh, the liberal feel good thingy. Only problem is it ruins any satisfaction the kids will ever have for a real achievement.
Growing up in the 80s, I find the current method of never trying to hurt a kid's self esteem, rather, uuuum, destructive. Telling a kid you're not the best one on the team is NOT a bad thing. Watching my 5 yr old daughter at her "soccer" matches was great, but lets be honest, not all kids are created equal as any honest parent can attest. Some kids really go after the ball and get in there. Others stand there and do basically nothing, while other try, but aren't aggressive enough to really make a difference. A random kid gets, the best "insert positive characteristic" medal each weekend. I stress random because by the end, EVERYONE gets something. Lame I know. At the end EVERYONE gets a trophy for playing. There were some kids that were really good. Others simply didn't want to be there. A reward should be for doing something above average, not for showing up. HR departments are already training our managers to be sure to compliment 20s somethings no matter what, even when they just do an average job. WHAT???? I will NOT compliment anyone under me for doing what's expected. Thats not worthy of a compliment. I'll say thanks, but I'll NEVER tell one of my designers that they did a good job, when it was an average job. If they pump out average work a few times, I'll be saying good bye to them, not, "GREAT JOB kiddo...". My HR reps can yell at me all they want. If they want to know why, I'll explain to them that lowering expectations only leads to a lower quality of work. So when our clients complain, I'll give them their number to explain why this is occurring and they can explain to our clients why we're not proving top notch quality. The explanation? Don't want to hurt the feelings of any budding designers and new hires? ^$*#(#(@ that. If you're too sensitive to accept criticism, sometimes harsh, get out of the business now. You won't survive. Unless, this is our future and average becomes the norm...."insert deity" help me=) The sad part is, I can't tell my daughter in front of other kids and parents, you really don't deserve the best trophy, because you simply aren't the best. You were better than him and smelly head in the clouds over the there and the fatty standing next to you, but Johnny was actually the best player. He deserves the trophy. I guess I could, but then I'd have child services knocking on my door the next day. No I'm not kidding. Some parents are that psychotic. Parents who scream at their kids like they're professionals are bad, but complimenting them for NOT trying? I'd like to know exactly who started the "everyone gets a trophy" garbage because I'd like to wring his or her neck=) Guarantee whoever it was, never had kids either, which makes it worse. My parents shake their heads at me whenever they come to any games because they're in disbelief as much as me. We truly are destroying ourselves.
