There is an ongoing debate about the effects competitiveness has on children in school. Ever-increasing competition between students has led people to believe that it is doing more harm than good. However, others say it is a motivating factor for children to reach a higher feat. I believe in this statement and trust that it is the only way that children can grow.
In our education systems, we teach children from a young age that they have the ability to become great, unique, and successful. This idea reaps the need for constant academic validation and a hunger to have one’s self appear ahead of others. Moreover, if they succeed in this pursuit, they will be convinced that they in fact have greatness in them. The more they believe in it, the more crushing defeat will feel when another student manages to outdo them. A prime example would be me. I thrived through middle school never having experienced the dreadful defeat of anything close to a B. My abilities were ahead of me and my ego was further. The journey through highschool defeated, crushed, and ravished me as I saw prodigies coming and going like leaves in the air. I became demotivated, reluctant, and a failure. Although my failure proves the first point to be true, there are other factors which contribute to the effects of competition. Other people encourage competition believing that with the right nurturing students will hone their skills allowing them to become sharper than ever. Without competition, there are very few factors to drive students into achieving something. The desire one has for being at the top can be accompanied by the most valuable virtue: humility. This way, a defeat in the race for first place will not be over in anguish but in acceptance and respect for the competitor. Not only does this hone academic skills but skills to survive in the real world as well.
In conclusion, competition is an inevitable experience one must go through during schooling. Competition can destroy some people, and it can build some people up. It is how one chooses to respond to it that affects them, not how much competition they face. Although both sides have strong reasons to back their claims, my belief still stands. Competition is needed for the mental growth of the student and cognitive development.