8th Place Ribbons

[FromTheSouth]

Why does every child need society to tell them they are good? Some kids just aren't good at some things. But, kids today are continually rewarded with 8th place ribbons. If you finish 8th in an 8 person field, you lost. You do not need to be told you're a winner when you're not. To do so undermines achievement. Kids will not strive to succeed when they are rewarded for failing. These are the reasons banks get bailed out. Sometimes, when you lose, you deserve to go home and cry about it.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/07/teacher-sues-fail/?test=latestnews

This article is about a teacher not allowed to fail students. You know what...sometimes people fail. These people need to be told they fail in order to inspire them to try and do better. Most people will take failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, some people will shrink and begin to blame others. Well, the second group can exist their whole lives as failure, blaming society for their inability to grow a pair. These people generally think that society should pay for them, and that achievers should be punished within the tax system to pay for them. The way I figure, the world needs ditch diggers, and you can do that or you can try to improve yourself.

Rewarding failure, or simply brushing failure under the rug, does nothing to improve society, and, in my opinion, drags society down. Giving 8th place ribbons or forcing teachers to pass students, or bailing out business shows people that failure is acceptable and that consequences don't exist. This is why we have petulant children, expanding government, and a declining dollar...all of which will destroy America.

 

[ABMorales787]

Like Ricky Bobby says, "If ya ain't first, yer last". That line, for a comedy, was dead on. In life you have to aim to be the best. To get your reward, otherwise there's no reason in working for it. Like Taz has mentioned before, if you're in a wrestling company and you don't want to be World Champion, then you shouldn't wrestle. Just look at Shelton Benjamin. He showed little interest and stayed just for the pay check. He got the boot.

Rewarding people for just trying says nothing. "I didn't win. But at least I tried". Doesn't sound quite as a push forward as saying "Damn, I failed. I I have to work harder and trying again."

 

[Brilliant Human Being]

I agree with you, but unfortunately it is a sad indictment of what society on the whole is coming to, the notion that guarding children from the perceived 'failure' of coming 8th in a race, is somehow benificial to the child. At that age; it is far better to tell a child that they are not good at something rather than letting them down gently, because in the end they will find a strength in life that will enable them to succeed, and not spend the rest of their childhood thinking they are at an even keel with everyone else.

 

[Cookie]

Why does every child need society to tell them they are good? Some kids just aren't good at some things. But, kids today are continually rewarded with 8th place ribbons. If you finish 8th in an 8 person field, you lost. You do not need to be told you're a winner when you're not. To do so undermines achievement. Kids will not strive to succeed when they are rewarded for failing. These are the reasons banks get bailed out.

I agree with this to an extent. If you didn't win, you aren't a winner. Period. You can't call yourself a winner if you didn't win, and to be told that you are is just a joke, really. Some things warrant a reward on completion, for example simply finishing a triathlon is a feat... but still, no win = no winner. I think times it can depend on a situation- for example, if a child is running a track meet at their school, a little encouragement (e.g. "you did your best") can go a long way. Everyone still feels failure, and you know that when someone tells you you did well, it means shit all at the time because you still FEEL that failure, but it still counts for something when someone reminds you that you really did try.

I think at times an 8th place ribbon can almost have the adverse affect you were talking about. It's kinda like a slap in the face- in case you didn't remember, you placed 8TH out of 8. Congrats! If I got one of those when I was a kid, I'd probably feel even worse.

Sometimes, when you lose, you deserve to go home and cry about it.

Absolutely. Overcoming a loss at anything will do its part in making you stronger. I think you're a product of your failures more than your successes.

In regards to a teacher not being able to fail students (I didn't read the article, so this is just me going by the idea of it) is absolutely fucking ridiculous and one of the biggest problems with education systems today. Where I grew up, you have to try pretty damn HARD to actually fail a course. You could do minimal-to-no work, barely show up, and still somehow manage to pass. You have GOT to fail students who aren't pulling their weight and they absolutely need to feel the sting of failure, especially in high school. Nothing gets easier after that, and the leniency of marking doesn't evne prepare the overachievers for post-secondary education, let alone the ones that are just managing to pull good grades. It's absolutely pathetic, and there's no point dragging a student along 4 years of high school with barely passing marks because at the end of the day they've learned nothing. I don't have enough fingers to count the number of friends I had who could barely READ in Grade 11 and had trouble with a literacy test. They have to learn the hard way and fail instead of getting by while being mediocre at best.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Why does every child need society to tell them they are good? Some kids just aren't good at some things. But, kids today are continually rewarded with 8th place ribbons. If you finish 8th in an 8 person field, you lost. You do not need to be told you're a winner when you're not. To do so undermines achievement. Kids will not strive to succeed when they are rewarded for failing. These are the reasons banks get bailed out. Sometimes, when you lose, you deserve to go home and cry about it.

As much as I want to encourage some kids in things like athletics, some are just not good enough. It's not me being a dick or looking at all the negatives. It's life. At a young age, I was pushed to play baseball, football, and basketball (pretty much the ABCs of American sports). I hated them all, but I showed "promise" in football. Pissed a lot of people off when I wouldn't go to college on it, and for the longest time I didn't understand why. I sucked at baseball and basketball, but they wanted me to continue and I didn't enjoy playing at all. It's my life, ya know? As kids they should at least get a say in what recreation they participate in.

Maybe it's more of the parents fault for trying to convert their children into sport superstars? I don't know. But somewhere in this there is that bastard out there trying to make money off their kid. Maybe that is why we see 8th place ribbons- as false encouragement.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/07/teacher-sues-fail/?test=latestnews

This article is about a teacher not allowed to fail students. You know what...sometimes people fail. These people need to be told they fail in order to inspire them to try and do better. Most people will take failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, some people will shrink and begin to blame others. Well, the second group can exist their whole lives as failure, blaming society for their inability to grow a pair. These people generally think that society should pay for them, and that achievers should be punished within the tax system to pay for them. The way I figure, the world needs ditch diggers, and you can do that or you can try to improve yourself.

This is completely pointless. How do we expect to improve ourselves if we aren't aloud to fail? Looks more like lazy work ethics then actual trying to keep feelings from being hurt. Either way suck it up little Tommy and do better. As for the school board- you're all a bunch of idiots.

Rewarding failure, or simply brushing failure under the rug, does nothing to improve society, and, in my opinion, drags society down. Giving 8th place ribbons or forcing teachers to pass students, or bailing out business shows people that failure is acceptable and that consequences don't exist. This is why we have petulant children, expanding government, and a declining dollar...all of which will destroy America.

In Track I placed 6th in state (for a AA school competition). In other words, I pretty much sucked. I didn't feel bad about it either. But they rewarded me a 6th place ribbon. I thought it was a bunch of crap honestly to even place 4th. The ribbon didn't mean shit to me- and any other kid would honestly feel the same. They would shrug it off. But not to win is more of a wakeup call. That tells ya if you want something, then do better. Simple. Little. Equation. And now America seems to be screwing that up.

Can you picture that thought process on a grander scale? The Olympics giving out medals to all its participants...everyone gets a Superbowl ring.....there would just be no point in sports at all!

In a world where everyone is a winner.. everyone is a loser.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Hmm...well, this is just in response to the people who think that not being able to fail a student is outrageous. To them I ask: in a culture that places way too much emphasis on perfection, what do you expect? Personally, I respect someone who has been able to overcome adversity and their own failings as a human being more than someone who, on paper, has never done anything wrong in their entire life. However, it seems to me that the latter is the only type of person that can truly succeed in America, and to be anything less is to be deemed a failure for the rest of your life.

So, if you're in a position to put a blemish on someone's transcript, and you know said blemish will probably ruin their shot at future educational opportunities, do you really want to decide someone's fate like that? In any other circumstances, I would fail someone if they submitted failing work. However, knowing that a chance at redemption after this is slim to none, I might think otherwise.

 

[People's Champ]

This is a sad reality that kids now are given awards/rewards just so that they left out. This idea that everyone is a winner is beyond me. In life I don't get rewarded if I don't win. In reality, this hurts the childern. They will grow up thinking that no matter, the goal to be the best is not important. Why when is can be ok at what I do and still receive the benefits of a winner? In the end they find out life doesn't work that way. And now they are stuck as adults trying to learn how to overcome their failures instead of figuring that out as kids.

And this idea of not being able to fail kids is rediculous. Your hurting the child more than anything by continuing to pass them on. So what if the child has to stay behind for a year? Would you rather they be prepared, knowing what they are doing, then just moving them on so as not to hurt their feelings? I can't believe how far standards have fallen.

 

[Via Armbar]

Telling a kid that they cannot fail or telling them that they're winners when they clearly are not can be detrimental to any success they may have later in life. It's pretty simple. I'm wouldn't hound my children for failing at sports or video games or trivial things as such. There is absolutely no shame in trying and losing, but there is shame in losing and calling yourself a winner. You will grow up to believe that not succeeding in things you have set out to accomplish is okay; it doesn't mean anything. Once that thought process has been embedded into your way of life, you will go about failing because there has been zero emphasis placed upon accomplishments and achieved goals.

If you fail...then you fail. If a teacher feels that a student hasn't done enough to pass the class why the hell wouldn't they give them a failing grade? There could absolutely be situations where learning disabilities come into play but special education is available for such cases. I guarantee, more often then not, it comes down to laziness and an absence of parental control. I'm not saying that parents should run their childs lives and treat them like slaves; only that there needs to be limits and rules set forth by the parents to teach their children the importance of goals and achieving them. If every lazy student gets a pass and can go on to apply to as many colleges as they wish with a high acceptance percentage, what is the point of trying? What is the point of striving to meet expectations and goals? You've taken away the drive; the moving force behind personal, financial and social success.

Should the best jobs be given to the incompetent? Should the most prestigious schools let in those who only passed general education because ''every body is a winner''? What would become of society if nobody had to try? Some people are naturally winners, some are not. The majority lies somewhere in between. You try, you fail and you try again. In the process you build a strong foundation of work ethic and a proper sense of self awareness that you cannot build by charity.

 

[Razor]

Why does every child need society to tell them they are good? Some kids just aren't good at some things. But, kids today are continually rewarded with 8th place ribbons. If you finish 8th in an 8 person field, you lost. You do not need to be told you're a winner when you're not. To do so undermines achievement. Kids will not strive to succeed when they are rewarded for failing. These are the reasons banks get bailed out. Sometimes, when you lose, you deserve to go home and cry about it.

I agree that society is putting too much a score on getting acknowledged for subpar performance. I remember in Little League Football our team get 3rd place in a competition that had 4 competitors. We didn't get a trophy. The first and second place teams did, however. We didn't raise a stink for trophies.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/07/teacher-sues-fail/?test=latestnews

This article is about a teacher not allowed to fail students. You know what...sometimes people fail. These people need to be told they fail in order to inspire them to try and do better.

The implications of this report are frightening. How in the fuck can a principal say no one flunks? Isn't that an illegal manipulation of scores? As a matter of fact, why doesn't every school do that? Everyone gets As! Hurray!

Most people will take failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, some people will shrink and begin to blame others. Well, the second group can exist their whole lives as failure, blaming society for their inability to grow a pair.

I think the sort of attitude that "everyone should get a trophy" comes from a few decades worth of overbearing parents that didn't allow any failure at all from their kids. The backlash, of course, is a lot of parents who think their children should be awarded for everything, even an F.

These people generally think that society should pay for them, and that achievers should be punished within the tax system to pay for them.

Lulz. Of course, FTS. People who believe in a fair system of income tax for the nation that requires poor people (who don't have as much to pay) pay less while the rich people (who can pay more) pay more to keep the nation afloat are really evil slackers who think everyone should get trophies. Of course.

The way I figure, the world needs ditch diggers, and you can do that or you can try to improve yourself.

Well yeah. I'm going to college so that I don't become a ditch digger. It's the very reason why I'm not a civil engineer. (Sorry, Engineering joke.)

Rewarding failure, or simply brushing failure under the rug, does nothing to improve society, and, in my opinion, drags society down.

Agree.

Giving 8th place ribbons or forcing teachers to pass students, or bailing out business shows people that failure is acceptable and that consequences don't exist.

The failing business thing is evened out when Wal-Mart drives out mom and pop stores and no one bails them out. But I get your point.

This is why we have petulant children, expanding government, and a declining dollar...all of which will destroy America.

Please don't tell me that feeding the poor is being equated to giving a person in 8th place out of 8 a trophy. Please.