The Lack of Competition in School Systems

"Competition is a painful thing, but it produces great results," said Jerry Flint.

Regrettably, the present-day world is failing to recognize the significance of competition and the desirable results that it can produce. Taking this train of thought, many countries around the world have purged or diminished competition in schools. By eliminating competition from schools, the people of today are only taking into consideration the short-term effects of competition, which, of course, are not so pretty and advantageous. Nevertheless, considering the potential benefits to be reaped in the future, the short-term results of competition are merely miniature tolls on the road to success.

Sadly though, the children of today are not stimulated to work hard and aspire to be superior to others. Instead, schools have nearly eliminated competition and consequently, deleted many motives for a student to exert more effort in his or her studies. Exceptional and gifted children are not encouraged to excel in academics and other school-related activities. By failing to encourage children to strive for more, the public school system is defeating the purpose of school: preparing students for the real world and ultimately, the adulthood. Moreover, eliminating competition from schools would endanger the futures of all students, gifted and failing students alike. In addition, competition is found in all aspects of adult life, the "real world," where nothing is fair. If naïve students are not prepared for competition through school now, they will lack that experience when they are adults. And unfortunately, experience is an entity that can not be acquired through a lesson, but rather, accumulated over time. Therefore, schools must present this opportunity for experience of competition now.

Although the solutions to the ongoing problem of competition in schools seem simple, there are still people blatantly supporting no competition in schools. The supporters of no competition in schools need to adopt a broader standpoint, one encompassing the futures of the children. Furthermore, people of the twenty-first century need to open their eyes and discern the detrimental effects the lack of competition is inflicting. Resolutions need to be made to reinstate competition in schools and therefore, create a competitive, yet beneficial environment for students. If the present day world does not realize the blunder that it is making, the people will soon be living in a world with no purpose and uniformity. The bright futures of our children will be shattered and they will not be appreciated for what makes them unique.