A future full of adults who were never properly disciplined as children, and who were given trophies for simply participating in events in school, sounds like something out of a dystopian terror film, amirite?

That sounds fairly accurate. Oh, and don't forget their parents showering them in high tech gadgets (more specifically, iPads/iPods) and spoiling them as a bribe to behave.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Showering them in high tech gadgets... and then complaining about their kids being too attached to them.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Gotta love George Carlin Edit: Oops replied to the wrong guy, sorry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wOt2iXdc4

by Anonymous 12 years ago

And the cycle never ends...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

"You get an A for effort, champ!" ...no.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah it should be E smirk

by Anonymous 12 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8E_zMLCRNg

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Perfect.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Describe "Proper discipline" because every parent I've met have their own methods.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Haha, no. No, not at all. Not in any way.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Would you like to explain your reasoning or just repeat "No" a few more times?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Because we //are// properly disciplined. Just because nobody beats their kid anymore doesn't mean we aren't punished and trained. And giving out awards for participation encourages all children to try something new and expand their horizons. If they keep doing so, they'll discover new talents and passions.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You say "we"... Obviously I am not talking about "us" in this post... Just the ones who are given everything they want when they want it, who are never taught to work and earn things. Those people will not make good leaders.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

No, they would still "do the actual work" because they want first place. First place recognition and praise is way better than the recognition and praise you get just for participating. Participation awards just tide you over so you don't absolutely fear failure and thus never try again.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If you fear failure you won't make a good leader either. We all fail sometimes, get the fuck over it and keep trying until you get it right.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

OP: haven't people like that existed in //every// generation, though?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

OP: that's exactly what i'm saying: if you give out participation awards, kids won't be as afraid of failure and they CAN make good leaders!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If you give out trophies for participation, the recipients of those trophies feel like they don't have to "win" to get rewarded; they will not try as hard to win if they know they will get a trophy anyway. This is the quality that would make one a poor leader.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Omg..we just need to stop babying people. We shouldnt be giving participation awards, instead we should be teaching kids to give 110% to everything they do. And if you dont win you dont get a trophy. We should be teaching them the value of hardwork and never giving up instead of taking the easy way out and giving kids things for trying. Trying isnt always going to be enough.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

OP: I've already rebutted this. People won't just settle for not trying as hard because the reward and recognition and praise is way better when yo actually win.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

BUT THEY DON'T SETTLE FOR JUST TRYING HALF COCKED BECAUSE THEY STILL WANT THE BIGGER AND BETTER REWARD YOU GET FOR WINNING. gosh people, how many times do i have to say that?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It doesn't matter how many times you say it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

We understand what you're saying, but for some people after recieving participation for so long they get used to it. It becomes the norm and the become conplacent

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You guys DO realize that participation awards are a slap in the face if that's all you got, right? Because that's the vibe I got. Participation awards are a formality. Everyone knows that.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeees thank you! I always threw em out

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The main problem with everyone getting awards and making teams without tryouts is kids don't ever have to deal with being disappointed, or not having things go their way. They know they will get something and don't have to put in the same effort to earn their achievements.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Wow fucking hell couldn't any of you just waited until I replied Jesus Christ Dystopian is a ridiculous exaggeration and considering the history of the human race where they were much, much worse than today in what OP described (worse childhoods and many probably couldn't even be slightly spoiled and many were probably way too competitive for their own good), and we still got here with a big improvement with more wealth and more acceptance to change (even though people are still fucking stupid and don't want to change because they're a bunch of cockfaces), I think our next several generations will just become better. A future with our generation as adults as OP described seems very promising if anything, considering the points OP said were very one-sided and shows some signs of confirmation bias.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

"Hey, I'm gunna try new things so I can get even more participation trophies" said no one ever.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Participation awards are only given to little kids to encourage them to try new things and become well-rounded. If an older kid gets a participation award, it's almost embarrassing. Aside from that, all of those kids will grow up sooner or later, will they not? They'll be put into the "real world." They'll experience hardships and failures before they get anywhere in life. I really don't think it's anything to worry about because everyone learns the lesson. Some just learn it sooner than others. It isn't going to affect the generation that's already "grown up" because by the time they are grown up, they (we) will have had those bad experiences.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

@Chewbanshee I have a problem with the whole "if they don't win they don't get a trophy" thing. Isn't a world where kids are groomed to believe that winning is all that matters just as distasteful?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably trying to sell you something.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Adonis batheus: wow!!! What is it with you and bias. Guess what... People have opinions. We aren't babies that are so open minded they have no ability to block out the bad. In fact, I think you're biased against bias.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I...what?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I thought the same thing as you. His comment was really confusing (assuming anon is a he.)

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The world would be a mess.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

O rly?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

So... Umm, uh, what would be the problem with that?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If dystopian didnt set off any bells, terror should've..

by Anonymous 12 years ago

What I'm saying is it doesn't sound like a dystopian terror film...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Are you telling me participation trophies don't scare the living shit out of you? Well then you just might be a normal person.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Pssh, the entire world has been dystopian ever since cat worshiping died with the ancient Egyptians in 30 B.C.E.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

http://ctrlv.in/106983

by Anonymous 12 years ago

http://ctrlv.in/107017

by Anonymous 12 years ago

For me, "participating" in cross country means I busted my ass and ran 40-50 miles a week. Am I the best? Heck no Should I get some sort of recognition? Yes please

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well, according to half these comments, that will brainwash you into thinking you can still win without hard work, which will lead you to become a low life as an adult!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Apparently, with that mindset, we'll be seeing you on the welfare list very soon!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

wait giggity goo then why did you upvote?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I guess because it would be a sucky world if every single adult grew up as a spoiled brat. It's not just the trophy thing but also the discipline thing. I got a mental image of a bunch of adults with huge creepy smiles..

by Anonymous 12 years ago

In my elementary school we had the "Olympics" every year. It was basically like field day. We got the whole day off to participate in little competitions like races, jump roping, etc. Usually there were 12-13 people for each event, and first through fifth place would get a ribbon. Then so many annoying parents complained that their kids didn't receive any/enough ribbons, the school had to completely change it. They weren't cancelled, but they were only half a day long, you couldn't choose what activities you did, and you had to stay with your class and do group activities. I'm extremely unathletic and never won ribbons, but I (along with every kid) hated the new Olympics. I feel like this story is somehow relevant to your post.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Somilar thing happened at my school. We just called it field day. The whole school was divided up into teams. There were individual and team competitions. At the end of the day the top kids for every grade for the individual competitions were announced and earned some points for their team. Then the team scores were all tallied up. It was great. Everybody wanted to win but it was a really good clean competition. You would see 8th graders picking up kindergarteners and giving them piggy back rides after they won something. It was one of the only times the whole school actually came together. Then like 2 parents complained because their kids didn't win anything. We had to scale everything back and get rid of the award ceremony. It was awful.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

That sucks, man. In my elementary school, we divided everyone into four teams: yellow, green, blue, red. It was pretty much a field day with half the day to do whatever the hell you want. If your team won, your team won, no complaints. It was announced over the speaker, you got a pizza party. Making it a group/team effort makes less room for whining parents.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You know, you do learn new stuff along the way. Sure kids may not have been "properly disciplined" as previous generations, but that doesn't mean they won't learn from their experiences from older people. I'm the same way: I'll ignore advice from older people like my brothers who were more "properly disciplined" but sooner or later I'll figure it out and start listening to them.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

At my little sister's elementary school, they received 1-5s instead of letter grades, with 5 being exceptional work. After pressure from some parents, the school forbade teachers from giving the children 5s because they were afraid that the children who received 4s would feel stupid and discouraged.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Lol, so stupid of them. So the kids who work extra hard are demotivated just so someone's feelings don't get hurt. Brilliant idea: give kids what they actually DESERVE for a grade, bc in life you tend to reap what you sow

by Anonymous 12 years ago

That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. It's a SCHOOl. Wouldn't that be like refusing to give A+'s to people who deserved them? Jesus, that makes me rage.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But then 4 would be the highest grade, so people who get 3's would feel stupid. No matter what you call it, someone is always going to do better than someone else, unless everyone gets the same grades.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

People just need to respect that there will always be someone better out there. Instead of whining about it and lowering someone else's standards, just use it as motivation. Whenever I see someone doing something better than I do, I simply say to myself, "If they can do it, I can do it."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Exactly. Plus, this is SCHOOL. You can't just give someone a lower grade to make everyone else feel better.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Exactly. If you can't handle it, you shouldn't go.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Why can't the parents do the job instead of an award of recognition by letting their kids know that it is great to try new things, but that "trying" something isn't all there is to it. The awards make success seem too easy. Let's be honest with our kids and do them a favor by giving them both encouragement and doses of reality. Just let them know that they have the potential to be good at something, but that it takes hard work. Encourage them to try new things and to stick to what they like even if they aren't the best at it, and don't make them expect to be the best, either. The most important thing is that they have fun and learn some values along the way. They are only kids, right?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

any1 who doesnt win doesnt deserve anything except a smack on the bum for sucking

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You know what I find odd? This post is in the high positives and many of the comments critizing participation awards are up voted. Yet everyone thinks we'll be a terrible society. If the majority of people are agreeing that participation awards are not to be taken as a great accomplishment then when we receive these awards we won't take them seriously.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Upvoting confirms there opinion

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't understand the point you're trying to make.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Just look at all the Canadian athletes who cried their eyes out in from of cameras after messing up. That is what will happen everywhere if we don't stop doing this. - embarrassed Canadian

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm surprised this got such a positive score. There's nothing "dystopian" about giving participation trophies. Honestly, the opposite sounds a lot more dystopian to me. "A future full of adults who were abused as children if they didn't get straight As, and were taught that they weren't as good as the other children and had nothing good going for them so they might as well just kill themselves."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Everybody takes abuse differently. Stone who are abused kill themselves because they THINK inferior, while others who are victims of the same abuse only thrice harder to get themselves away from the abuse, because they KNOW they are not inferior. Weak minds do not make good leaders.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Some*, try*

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Where did "abuse" come from? I didn't say kids need to be spanked or hit, i said "properly disciplined" which means, for some, just a firm tone in your voice (and using the right words); but for some others, it does mean they need to be physically disciplined, but to the right degree. And with discipline, there must also be reward, but only when something is done right, not just because.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.” Socrates. This is how it's always been. There's nothing new about

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Most of you will understand when you're older. If you praise your kid for everything they do, they have nothing to work towards, and they'll be in for a real shocker when they eventually outgrow happy-smiley-kid world and are forced to move out and get a job. Always being your kid's best friend may make you feel like a good parent, but in reality that isn't your job. Giving them a pat on the back every time they screw up isn't preparing them for the real world.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well said. Thank you, Bob.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If everyone gets rewarded just for trying, then there's no meaning in winning any more. I understand that some children need more motivation than others but if I'd worked really hard and put all my efforts into winning, I would be pretty pissed off to get the same prize another kid would 'for trying'.

by Anonymous 12 years ago