To Win or Lose...Does your child know how to Win and Lose???

I was sitting back tonight and started to think of the way our kids are being graded at school and taught during sports.....

When i was a kid we had a grandfinal in a game of hockey.....We played hard and well, but alas we did not win......The other team got trophies and we got a pat on the back......We congratulated the other team as on the day they were the better team......I sat back and watched my sons soccer team playing a grandfinal last year.....Different out come they won......They got a trophy and so did the runner ups......for playing so welll......A trophy not a medalion.....I thought to myself as I watched some of the kids walk away what are we teaching them.....Yes it is nice to be awarded but then as they walked away I heard one of the boys saying to his parents........ we should have won that....His mother turned to him and said you guys can't help it if the ref was bias.... What happened to teaching our kids how to win and loose......What happened to teaching our kids how to be good sports....Why not say I know mate but on the day there can only be one winner and it is not if you win or lose it is how you play the game.......

The same thing with the school marking system.......When I was back in school.....yes in the dinasaur ages as my kids tell me......50% was a C......the class average was not a pass like it is now.....If the class average is 30% that means 30% is a pass.....How fair is this? ....How are we teaching our kids anything from this?......Are we not sheltering them from failing?.....I remember back to my primary school years and the first C+ I got I nearly died......It was a good mark a pass.....But I wanted to strive to do better.......I wanted an A so i worked on it and knew where I had to go to get it........

Teaching our kids these ways is not doing any favours for them.....

We teach them in class and in the sport fields that everyone is a winner then what is going to happen when they hit the real world?.....When they go for a job interview.....not everyone is a winner.....one job one winner so to speak......When they get a job if there performance is not the best it can possibly be will they keep it?....will they want to strive to learn?.....to do better if everyone gets awarded?......

I am teaching my kids how to be a gracious winner....and a good loser.....I am teaching my kids to strive for the best not just keep up with what the class can do.....I am teaching my kids there is a second place and that not everyone is a winner.......

Because when my Children go into the big bad world I do not want them to be too heartbroken when they do realise that they don't always win......

I am not saying to make your child so competitive that they go for blood to win and if they don't win then they have failed what I am saying is teach your kids how to win and lose......

These are just my thoughts on the whole thing.....What do you think?

Have a great day
Cheers
Angie