Healthy Competition...

I just read this story.

Can someone tell me what ever happened to good old fashioned "competition"?! Why is it SO wrong that someone is more skilled at something than another? Maybe that losing team needs to work a little harder...and perhaps this kind of defeat will motivate them. I think that the winning team should be applauded, not chided for their huge victory!

It seems people have become so obsessed with conformity that we suck the creativity and ambition from our youth.

Carl & I were at an elementary school last month where we witnessed a teacher yell at these little 1st graders because a few of them "hopped" over a cord on the floor versus "stepping" over it. Was there any real danger in doing this? Hells no. The teacher just had an agenda that her brood needed to conform.

Then I was visiting my Little Sister last week at her middle school, and while I was waiting for her, I saw another teacher angrily say to a boy, "a pre-schooler could stand in a line better than you". Seriously?! Well done, teacher lady. Spoken like any good military leader.

I understand that kids can get unruly if there are NO rules, but the way they're being raised nowadays is only teaching them how to be lifeless, spiritless, and dumb. Talent and ambition should be encouraged, not deflated! Children need to know it's ok to stand out.

Carl did a ton of guitar competitions when he was a teenager, and on several occasions, he was asked to NOT enter, because they wanted to "give other people a chance". Dude! How about giving them something to work towards?! By allowing more skilled players into a competition, don't you think it would bolster the urge to practice and improve? This is a contest for the BEST musician, right?

Maybe they should hand out "honorable mention" and "participant" ribbons while they're at it, so everybody feels special. ;)