The Useless Trophy - An Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay I wrote for my Critical Thinking class:
The Useless
Trophy—The Outdated Practice of Handing Out Participation Trophies
Society
is babying its children and allowing parents to think each child is special or
talented. While this may hold true in certain cases, this thinking does more
harm than good by rewarding children with a trophy just for participating. This
practice allows children to grow into entitled adults thinking they deserve
special treatment. Recognition means much more to a child when it is well-earned.
Children neither deserve or require a trophy for every single activity or
sports season, unless it is a high achievement where recognition is warranted.
Giving children participation trophies is unnecessary and should become an
outdated practice.
Firstly,
if children received less trophies without proper cause, they could benefit
greatly in several ways. A child is more likely to appreciate a trophy given to
them that was earned by hundreds of hours of arduous work and dedication. If a
team wants to acknowledge every member then individualized certificates or
ribbons could be handed out with personal recognitions, i.e. the earliest to
practice every day, the best comeback of the season, the team cheerleader, etc.
At an early age, receiving a trophy is an exciting event but becomes repetitive
once the child receives multiple trophies without merit. Once the child earns a
trophy for being one of the best or winning an achievement, the trophy turns
into something special—this is cause for celebration and acknowledgement.
Coaches and parents need to rethink participation trophies and consider
alternative ways to recognize players.
Secondly,
the amount of money spent on participation trophies could go towards bettering
the team or other activities and equipment. The money allocated towards
trophies could buy better equipment or be used to hire an additional coach.
While trophies are fun and exciting, children benefit more from quality
equipment and mentoring than a silly trophy that lacks substantial meaning.
With all the proper resources available, the children can turn the advantage of
extra mentoring and equipment into tangible results. Handing out trophies
without due cause is a waste of money and takes away resources from other
valuable areas.
Thirdly,
children strive on motivation and the idea of a challenge. By only handing out
trophies to high earners, the children not receiving a trophy can turn the
disappointing experience into a motivator to work even harder—the trophy as
their goal. As children grow into adults, they feel like they deserve a reward
for every little accomplishment and can lead to a false sense of entitlement. While
the self-esteem of children is important at an early age, it is not more important
than giving them the wrong idea about their abilities; from mentoring and
individualized attention, the child benefits more from this than, eventually, a
useless object. Trophies are a means of false recognition and should serve as a
means of motivation, not just a usual practice.
Overall,
children eventually lose motivation and focus by frequently “earning" trophies.
As a competitive swimmer for thirteen years, I received my fair share of
trophies—all participation trophies. The awards I cherish are the ribbons and
medals I earned by finishing in a higher place than my competitors. The
trophies sit in my childhood room collecting dust and only elated me for a few
hours after receiving one every season. Parents and coaches must recognize that
trophies can serve as a motivation for the children to push themselves to being
one of the best by earning that title through hours of dedication. Trophies
should only be given as acknowledgement to those deserving of recognition, not
just tossed out to every player at the end of the season. Giving out
participation trophies must be turned into an outdated practice, and those
opposed must realize that the waste of money and loss of resources has a
substantially negative effect on our children.
—Adrienne
(Salinas) Boyd