Many people believe that educational institutions can have a negative impact on students by being too competitive, while others argue that children will achieve more when they are competing against one each other. Although competition between students can have some negative impacts on some learners, such as low self-esteem or too stressed to compete. I believe that competitive environments can motivate students to achieve and prepare them for adult life.
On the one hand, students who are not competitive at school can develop a low self-esteem. Adolescences that are not top achievers in academics or sports are sometimes forced to complete by teachers or peers if they struggle to complete the task given to them, it can result in children to believe that they are not good enough or they might feel that they do not belong there. Moreover, children often stress too much to complete with others in school. With all the pressure that they must deal with at school, some students can have a panic attack or feel ill on the day, where they should compete against their peers. For instance, a student started to vomit, while sitting their final exams, in South Africa due to pressure to achieve the scores needed for college applications.
On the other hand, many students are taking the competitive environment as motivation to succeed and achieve their goals. Children that are motivated by others when competing at school level, can result in learners doing extra preparation to succeed not only in a competitive manner, but also for personal development. Furthermore, a competitive environment is preparing children for adulthood. When students graduate high school, and adapted a way to be competitive, it will be easier for them to complete against adults for job opportunities, unlike those who did not have a competitive environment at school. For example, some high school postgraduates should complete against older adults at interviews when applying for a job and when they are used to competition against others, they will be calmer and have experience on dealing with stressful situations.
In conclusion, in some schools a competitive environment can cause students to stop believing in themselves and their abilities which can cause illness such as depression. I believe that students that are competitive in school are more likely to be motivated to reach their goals and can handle difficult situations when they reach adulthood.