Blog #4

Hello All!
This week in Phed 1280 we were asked to read an article about Competition vs. Cooperation and then blog about how we feel about this article.  Here is what I came up with:
 Do I think that cooperation is better than competition, and what does better mean?
I think cooperation is better because it gets everyone involved and is a much more positive environment for learning, improving, and growing.  Better does not necessarily mean it's the "best" or the "only" thing that matters.  To me, it just simply means that it is a better philosophy or focus, shall I say, than competition. There was a part in this article that talked about how doing your best and trying to beat others are two total different mental processes.  I liked this thought as it made me think of how if you concentrate on doing your ultimate best then in turn, your reward will be much higher than if you beat someone else while not doing your best.
Can there be a balance between the two?
I think there could be a balance between the two.  However, you would have to re-define what competition is.  For example, instead of focusing on "beating someone else", focus on competing with yourself instead, in doing so, you will be constantly improving and growing in your skill.
Does competition decrease self-esteem or increase it?
I feel that competition (though as many could argue increases), decreases self esteem more than it would increase it.  This is because in a competition you are always wanting or trying to beat someone who is better than you.  Therefore, you always have it in your head that you might not be good enough if you are not always at the top of the competition.  You would have the mind set that there is always someone better than you.  Whereas if you are focusing on just doing your personal best the only person to look at is yourself.  And if you keep working hard at doing your best, then you will be able to see yourself keep improving and this will raise your self esteem.
Should we only play games that are cooperative so not to hurt someone's self esteem?
I think overall yes, and especially in a P.E or recreational setting as the focus is on helping people to have fun and getting to know people as well as living a healthy and active lifestyle and not on "winning" against other people.  However, I do think there is a time and place where we can play games that are not just cooperative but also competitive. This would be for high level competitive teams/sports though.
Should we be promoting elite sport in school?
No, I think school should focus more on the kids themselves and as people who can take what they learned in the classroom and out into the community and in the rest of their life.  Have the focus be on them learning how to work well with others and learn to live a healthy and active lifestyle (as mentioned earlier).  I think elite sport should only be promoted outside of school.  However, I do think that once people are graduated and move on to university it is different as far as promoting elite sport.  For example, they have already gone through a good chunk of their lives and should by now have a decent background in what cooperation in sport is.  I think once they get out of high school and into university or college that they can start to focus on elite sport if they want to.  Plus elite sport in university is not as connected to school or "the classroom" as it is in younger years.  It is more separate; you are a part of an elite team with that type of focus, rather than a P.E class in elementary or high school and it is not a "required" thing to take, it's something you choose to be a part of.
Well that's a lot to take in for the day, so have a good thanksgiving weekend folks!
Until next time,
Courtney.        

P.S.
Follow this link for a fun song from the good ol' childhood days about cooperation- enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5exvfbnFMUg