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When you hear the word “competition,” your thoughts may run to images from your childhood, winning the first-place match in a soccer tournament. Oh the ‘high’ that gave you! Or the race for the highest GPA to become high school valedictorian. And you may also remember the embarrassment of failing at certain competitions. So, is competition at school healthy?

Today, the idea of ‘competition’ in our schools is much different (and the Internet seems to be complaining about it, correlating it with everything that’s wrong with so-called ‘millennials’). When comparing your own competition memories to your child’s current reality, you may glance over a shelf full of ‘participation’ trophies and wonder if the competitive activities from your childhood could still hold a place in your child’s life today.

Is it better to keep competition out of the way at school, so no one gets hurt? Or could competition be the key to unlocking even more of your child’s potential?

Below we’ll cover the pros and cons of encouraging competition in schools:

The Pros of Competition in Schools:

1. Motivation thrives in competitive situations

It’s probably every parent’s dream for their children to be motivated at school all the time. Competition at school can be a great way to motivate kids, by challenging them to put in their maximum effort.

2. Competition in schools leads to valuable skills

When children face competitive activities at school, they not only gain individual skills, like resilience and motivation, but they also build on important interpersonal skills. Competitive activities actually help students learn to let others have their turn, see things from others’ point of view, and build a strong character in spite of failure. These are skills that help prepare students for the workplace later in life. It also helps them succeed socially and academically in school.

3. Healthy competition boosts self-esteem and engagement

Positive, healthy competition at school will help build students up, and engage them as they discover new skills. Some signs of healthy competition include seeking opportunities to repeat the competition, developing new talents, desiring to improve, and experiencing higher self-esteem.

The Cons of Competition in Schools:

1. Stress often comes hand-in-hand with competition

Competition can easily lead to stress and anxiety, especially if it promotes academic competition between individual students. This stress can force students to push back other interests and extracurricular activities, leading to an unbalanced life.

2. Be prepared for disappointment

The emotional impact and confidence of your child can be negatively affected by a less-than-ideal outcome, which is one of the disadvantages of competition in learning process. Unless the objective is to ensure every child emerges victorious in every contest, there will inevitably be moments of disappointment when they don’t win. Undoubtedly, experiencing defeat is a challenging and difficult aspect of competition.

3. Unhealthy competition leads to lower engagement

If a competition does not provide kids with a goal that is attainable for everyone, the activity becomes unbalanced, with some jumping ahead and others ending up left in the dust. This is the kind of competition that will lead to anxiety and a diminished desire to participate in related activities. An unhealthy competition may be one that is focused on winning, says Jessica Velasco of howtolearn.com, instead of honing in on learning a new skill or working as a team. These are the competitions that you may want to think twice about before incorporating into your classroom!

Healthy Competition Is the Way To Go

Regardless of where you stand in your opinion of whether competition is healthy in schools, keep in mind there are many different forms of competition that can take place. Some are definitely more positive than others! Aim for competitive activities that involve setting attainable goals and encouraging teamwork. And of course, above all, keep students engaged and having fun.

Stay tuned for more specific tips on how to implement healthy competition in the classroom!

In our last article on this topic, we outlined some pros of joining a spelling bee. We covered the outcomes of English-speaking Canadian kids joining spelling bee contests in both Canada and the U.S.A.

And, like with all subjects on giving our kids the best education possible, there are many points to debate. In this article, we’ll cover the other side of the spelling bee argument – the cons.

The cons of spelling bee competitions

Regardless of country, opposition to English-language spelling bees can be summarized as the following arguments:

They challenge kids to learn words that they will never use again, and that have no meaning or prevalence outside of the spelling bee context

As this opinion column quotes, spelling bee competitions contain “Words known only to people with two Ph.D.’s. Words used only by extremely fanchonette academics and, of course, slobberhannes newspaper columnists who drop them into their prose for a lame joke.”

Pronouncing words can be based on accents, which makes spelling bees confusing

Pronunciation can throw off a contestant. Some words are pronounced based on accents from other languages. And sometimes, one region of a country pronounces a word differently than another region.

Spelling bees can put kids on the spot, and make failure a dooming experience

It’s true, spelling bees can embarrass kids who get the answers wrong, potentially. Though, this is contested (like all points in this article), as spelling bees are competition, like any other sport. Though, since the American Scripps National Spelling Bee is televised, that can make the fall harder to recover from.

Spelling bees don’t actually teach language skills, if that is their end goal

Literacy involves more than memorizing words, and takes actually reading and using words.

When it comes to Canadian kids and spelling bee contests, the choice is theirs, we say!

While we have identified pros and cons to spelling bee contests in Canada, in the end, it is the child who gets to decide whether they want to participate. Like any other passion or extracurricular activity, the spelling bee is just one of many to pick from. Some kids will like sports, some piano or guitar, and others will be obsessed with geography or space. We say, let them take their pick. Spelling bees are a great competitive activity that can benefit some. To others, the possibility of public failure, a learning disability, or some other setback may make spelling bees a horror to think about. And that’s ok! The choice is theirs, we say!

A spelling bee contest in Canada sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? While we may have watched them in American TV shows, they do in fact happen across Canada, and Canadian kids attend these spelling competitions in the U.S. In case you didn’t know, Canada’s ‘big’ spelling bee competition is run by the 30-year-old, Toronto-based non-profit, Spelling Bee of Canada (and it has regional competitions too).

So what makes spelling bees fun in any country? Kids get to show off their ability to memorize the spelling of words, and achieve status at the end. Parents are proud, and popularity is won! Or is it that appealing? Some may argue that there are cons to spelling bee contests, just as there are pros. In this two-part article, we’ll debate the question of whether children should join a spelling bee contest.

The pros of Canadian kids joining a spelling bee competition

Of course, Canada bears two official languages: English and French (in addition to some unofficial First Nations languages, which we should also credit). We’ll be covering English spelling bees here.

They encourage vocabulary development in a language that demands memorization

English is a tough language. Vocabulary development takes practice, and memorization techniques.

See related: 4 interesting ways to encourage vocabulary development in young minds

English is not as orderly or sensical as other languages. It’s a mish-mash of words from different languages, and with different spellings that evolved over many years. That article posits the ‘illogical language’ fact as a con to learning. However, one could also argue that events like spelling bees are conducive to making word-learning a fun, challenging activity.

They open doors to better literacy skills and language enjoyment

Education.com published an article praising spelling bee contests for their ability to do more than encourage dull, meaningless remembrance of words. To quote their adequate statement from a Merriam-Webster editor and spelling bee judge:

The way the children learn the words is…through etymology and learning roots, pronunciations, and multiple definitions….Once children learn to break down words, they can decipher meanings of related words…and become better readers and writers overall…with better reading comprehension, comes greater literacy, and greater enjoyment of reading, literature and language.”

Spelling bees help some kids develop confidence and character

When the CBC reported on a 2016 spelling bee contest in B.C., the parent of the winner noted, rather wisely, the reason he got his child involved. To quote the article’s interview,

It is not just about spelling, it is about character building,” said Jas Bhatia. “How to be patient, wait for their turn and if they spell it wrong to cheer for their friends.”

Another participant’s parent said,

Competition of this nature is positive because it lets them explore more avenues of themselves and shows the result of that commitment.”

In the lead up to the 2017 national spelling bee contest in Toronto, the CBC also reported on parents and participant’s attitudes towards the benefits of spelling bees. One child was entered into the game to overcome stage fright, and to be able to learn to interact with peers. It worked! Reflecting on an 1988 competition, a winner testified that the experience helped build her confidence.

Plus, at least where U.S. spelling competitions are concerned, the prizes can be extensive for winners. This can show kids the result of dedication to perfecting a skill, and the rewards that could result.

They are helping to break down race barriers for Indians and South Asians

This point may be one that some can argue around. But it is notable, and noted by multiple journalists, that winners of spelling bees lately are dominantly from India or South Asia (or have that heritage as Canadians and Americans). The aforementioned CBC article stated that 14 of the past 18 winners in America were Indian. This author even compared the Indians’ skill in spelling to that of running talents among Ethiopians and Kenyans. So, could this be a way to let the South Asian community shine?

There is another side to spelling bee competitions!

Our Canadian kids may not all be suited for spelling bee contests, and parents and teachers may disagree with their existence altogether. Stay tuned for our next article in this series, outlining some cons of spelling bee competitions.

With early intervention and an increase in awareness about autism spectrum disorder, many children are being diagnosed as babies or in their toddler years. Since autism is typically discovered in early childhood, many parents don’t expect to have to look for signs as their child ages. Yet, sometimes signs of autism can go undiagnosed until your child is older and begins to experience some noticeable signs as well as learning difficulties. Below are five signs that your teen may have autism.

Withdrawal from social situations

One of the difficulties that people with autism may find hard to overcome is the ability to read other people’s’ signals and emotions. This may cause them to find it difficult to fit in or adjust to what is expected of their age. Because of this, they may often avoid engaging with students their age for fear of being bullied or ridiculed. While teens may withdraw from peers for a variety of reasons, an avoidance of social interaction should be looked into.

More literal interpretations

Teens and adults with autism spectrum disorder are known to have trouble interpreting metaphorical speech, or ‘street talk.’ They can often take phrases literally. So, watch out if your Autistic teens has difficulty understanding sarcasm or idioms. This may be due to communication issues that stem from being more comfortable with structure and ‘exactness.’

Difficulty with complicated or multi-step directions

Teens with autism spectrum disorder may suffer from ADD or ADHD. They may have a hard time staying focused through longer, or multiple instructions. Typically focus can be held for two-step directions. But more than that may cause them to withdraw, or move onto something else.

Showing symptoms of mental health disorders

People with autism spectrum disorder have a higher rate of other psychiatric disorders. The most common psychiatric disorders associated with autism are anxiety, ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, and schizophrenia. Teens with autism can be particularly affected by anxiety disorders, especially when they are in social settings.

Having difficulty with school curriculum

As teens enter into high school, curriculum tends to become more difficult. Teens with autism may begin to exhibit learning disabilities as the curriculum becomes more demanding. However, teens with higher functioning autism often have average, to above-average IQs.

If your teen is exhibiting signs of autism spectrum disorder, it is important to have them properly diagnosed. Intervention as early as possible is important to help your teen to be successful at school, as well as in their life outside of school.