Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
I'm not a parent and won't comment either way about rewarding kids just for participation, but I do have a big problem with the "if you're not first, you're last" mentality. Go tell an Olympic silver or bronze medalist that you view their accomplishment as equivalent to the person who finished last (not to mention the people who couldn't even qualify for the Olympics) and see what they say to you.
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That is far from accepting mediocrity. You are talking about people who have consistently challenged and won at every level their entire lives to make it to the pinnacle of their sport. That is the definition of success, and deserves to be rewarded.
What I am more concerned about is that by rewarding people for "doing their best" when really what they are doing is giving it a half a$$ effort, we encourage people to accept that even if they don't try hard, they will still be rewarded. That is a terrible way to teach people.
Olympians are not a fair comparison, as I have nothing but absolute respect for them.