Friday, March 30, 2007
To Protect the Child
When I was a kid, there were consolation prizes in school contests. Until we understood the appallingly patronising semantics, we saw it as the legitimate last rung in the hierarchy of awards. Then there were middle-school debates that were sanctimoniously labelled "academic" (euphemism for "rigged at the time of deciding the topic") lest our sensitive minds be exposed to acrimony and disagreement.
Not too many years ago, kids versions of television contest (mostly singing talent shows) never announced winners—every participant took home the same crummy gift-hamper.
Now apparently, this Super Singer Junior reality show on Vijay TV has pictures of kids being rejected (they have candy I suppose), also of kids behaving like little spoilt divas, and also of kids singing really well and winning.
Then I came across this (via). Now I may not entirely agree with a dogmatic view about "good competition", but I do see in my line of work that a system of incentives (and disincentives) really produces results, if the system is deemed to be even nominally "just" by its members.
Kids, I have seen, have a terrific sense of morality, fairness and "right".
Labels: Libertarianism, Links, Media, Politics, Work
Comments to To Protect the Child
Macchi;
Chenthil has given you ooru sooper title ? Kurosowa of Kodambakkam ;-)
posted by 
Unknown
ama ama, psbb le elarukum consolation prize dhan..
posted by I
You might be aware of Alfie Kohn's famous paper Studies Find Reward Often No Motivator. A very famous open source project redistributes this paper along with the software.
Psychologists have been finding that rewards can lower performance levels, especially when the performance involves creativity.
posted by 
http://supersingerjunior.blogspot.com/
posted by Sammpath
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