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Bridget Angus
FHS 1500
Mark Jarvis
COOPERATION VS. COMPETITION
Question:
Is competition over-emphasized in American Society? Why? What are the advantages of such a
competitive attitude? What are the disadvantages?
Answer:
Yes I feel that competition is over-emphasized, when you make everything a competition there
are bound to be people out to hurt one another for winning sake.
The advantages of this I would guess and say it makes a person into a strong and goal orientated
adult, having some competition makes you work to get what you want.
The disadvantage of this is that no one learns the right way to take competition, their way is
always right. Take football for example the NFL is full of players that think they are better than
others, while in college they are made equal no one is more valuable.
Question:
Identify situations that you have observed in which competition has actually interfered with
people achieving a goal. Is competition emphasized in children? What recommendations would
you make to parents regarding their child's participation in soccer, baseball, etc.?
Answer:
This situation I encountered personally, my son was on a baseball team this year and his coach
did not recognize that other children played better than other and put them in important spots like

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pitcher and catcher. In this case it was his kid and the neighbor kid because they are in the same
ward. They both were not any good at it but he let his completive judgment to make his kid and
the other kid a star and let the whole team suffer. The neighbor kid was the pitcher and for every
four balls that were called he only achieved to throw 2 strikes. As for his son he never tried to put
in the effort of catching, I do not believe he even wanted to play. While my son, who has sensory
processing disorder, was stuck in the outfield where he sat most of the game. It was not until the
last 3 games that his coach decided to try him on second base and he excelled at it. I will never
understand the politics of being excluded because of a competition due to religion and I hoped
my child would never have to either but I was wrong.
I do feel that competition is emphasized in children to a certain degree. As a parent I try not to
make things a competition between my children, and then I look at my sister and her family, and
she is always comparing her children to each other and I do not think this is healthy for them. No
child is the same and they should not be treated as such. Competition in children is inherent they
want to see who is faster stronger it makes it fun. We as adult should not make everything a
competition it takes the fun out of being a kid and the wonder it has on them.
Dont take the fun out of being a child and make it a competition, kids like to have fun and they
learn a lot from sports. The text book talks about his, Active play leads to better overall health,
less obesity, appreciation of cooperation and fair play, improved problem-solving ability and
respect for teammates and opponents of many ethnicities and nationalities. However there is a
down side to sports it may lead to loss of self-esteem, injuries, reinforcement of prejudice
(especially against the other sex) and increase stress (Berger, 2014 p. 245).

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Work Cited
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth, 2010. Print. third
printing