The Case for Competition
By Lauren Teegarden
In the name of fairness, society now shuns competition. What effect does this have? Read on...
Nervous glances. Sweaty palms. Shuffling feet. A group of 5th grade boys waited anxiously for basketball tryouts to begin. After exhibiting their skills for a few short hours, the decision would be made: A team, B team, or being “cut” completely. After a week of waiting, the answer was mailed on postcards, each stating: “Since every one of the boys did so well at tryouts, there will be no cuts—not even division into A and B teams…they will simply be split into three equal teams. That way, everyone is a winner!”
…Everyone is a winner. How often is this phrase heard? Lately, competition has received a deluge of negative press. The cry is heard that all competition is horrible; it is unfair; it emphasizes differences. Cries of “Oh, we don’t keep score. It might hurt someone’s feelings” run rampant. People are becoming increasingly fearful of any kind of competition, as we seek a world where “everyone wins”, “no one loses”, and we are all "equal." Truth-be-told, not only do we Americans thrive on competition, but we just couldn't live without it.
Competition is inevitable. Children want to win at Monopoly, get the most Halloween candy, and be the first to memorize their multiplication tables. Teenagers want to be the first with a driver’s license, be ranked highest in their class, and win the state soccer championship. People love to win; they love to have “measuring sticks” with which to judge their performances and achievements.
Competition motivates. If you win—every single time, in absolutely everything you do—then the motivation to improve becomes nonexistent. It is pointless to try if you know everyone will win. Now, approximately 40% of high school students earn an athletic varsity letter in any given year. In the past, only the upper echelon of contenders could even hope to get a varsity letter. As fairness becomes emphasized to the point of absurdity, the value of motivation through competition is lost.
Besides athletics, competition provides motivation in the academic realm, as well. Kids need to be encouraged to excel—not just told that minimum effort is sufficient. Britain is considering legislation to change its grading scale—there will be no failing grade, just a grade for “trying.”
Losing is just part of life. People have different abilities, and they know it. There is no point in claiming that “everyone is a winner” at everything, when, in fact, this is not true. Obviously, we are all better at some things than at others—and we all realize this. Just as competition builds character through humility and self-understanding, it also promotes creativity: “A shopkeeper was dismayed when a brand new business much like his own opened next door and displayed a huge sign which read…BEST DEALS. But he was truly horrified when another competitor opened on the other side of his store, and announced its arrival with an even larger sign, reading… LOWEST PRICES. How could he, right in the middle, ever compete? The shopkeeper panicked, until he got an idea. He put the biggest sign of all over his own shop, in the middle. It read…MAIN ENTRANCE." An ingenious idea, such as the shopkeeper’s, would not be needed without competition.
And the basketball tryouts—Did “everyone win” as promised? Hardly. The three equal “no-cut” teams were forced to play against other schools’ A teams—and they lost again and again. The coaches were frustrated, the parents were frustrated, and the boys were frustrated. A situation where “everyone wins” turned into a situation where everyone lost. In our society’s well-meaning attempt to “soften the blow” of competition, we are actually increasing stress. As a society, we should embrace competition and direct our compassion towards matching the competitor to the contest. Without competition, mediocrity becomes the accepted norm. The world where “everyone wins” is not so perfect. Let there be competition!
Lauren Teegarden is a student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. With grandparents of her own, Lauren recognized the value of strong grandparent-grandchild interactions and started "The Grandparent Connection," a free monthly email newsletter with articles, advice, and activities for grandparents. Visit her website, www.thegrandparentconnection.org, to sign up for the newsletter.
