Australian Teacher Magazine - No.1 national education sector publication

Having been around the education scene for more years than I care to remember, it takes a bit to surprise me, but I was stunned on hearing two thirds of schools in the UK have banned winning.

 

Yes, you have read correctly, a ban has been placed on winning! What is the world coming to? Apparently schools were having trouble getting children to participate in races because they didn’t want to lose.

 

In my mind a ban doesn’t solve the problem in any way. With no winners it is more a case of everyone loses, no-one wins, and all go home feeling a little dissatisfied and without any sense of achievement. Sure, it is great to give children a participation ribbon, but rewarding those who excel is also important, in sport, as it is in any field.

 

Where will this end? Could it be that in the future, for fear of damaging self-esteem, competitive sport will be banned? Imagine one of our great sporting events without winners.

 

After an epic battle in the AFL Grand Final we may see the players warmly shake hands and line up to receive their participation medallions. No Premiership Cup, no Norm Smith medal for the best player on the ground, no award for the ultimate achievement in a sporting endeavour.

 

Of course this is tongue in cheek, such a scenario could never possibly happen.

 

Regardless, we are entering dangerous waters here. Children who do not learn that winning and losing are part of life whilst in their formative years will have a rude awakening when they eventually leave school and enter the competitive world of the workforce.

 

Schools are by nature competitive places. Students are graded academically, in terms of their attitude to learning, rewarded for pleasing results, and sometimes punished for less than satisfactory efforts. In a simplistic sense, the final result after 13 or so years of schooling is a number which ranks students from first to last! Taken further, teachers compete for promotions and positions of responsibility. Again, there are winners and losers.

 

Valuable life lessons are learnt from competition, winning and losing teach important truths and aid the development of coping skills and resilience. In fact, losing should not be seen as a negative experience, rather as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Losing can be motivating and provide the impetus to do better next time.

 

Acknowledge participation, reward achievement, and encourage improvement so that all can taste success. Let’s make sure that in Australia, where we value competition and all that it brings that we do not deprive our children of the benefits of losing (and winning).

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