An interesting topic cropped up on the other forum I visit. One
member claims that the standard of sport is falling in places where
the politically-correct brigade have a stronghold. Kids lose their
fighting spirit when they're told that taking part is the most
important thing, and not winning. In the hopes of keeping their
interests and participation up they are advised to 'enjoy' it,
rather than sulk or fight to develop their skills further if they
lose.
This can also be applied to education, where the clowns try to keep
people from failing not by making them work harder, but by making
it so obscure through 'competency learning'/streaming, or ditching
the usual alphabetical grades for 'satisfactory/unsatisfactory'. It
becomes difficult to distinguish who has real mastery of the
subject.
What's all this for, to massage some egos? Sometimes I wonder
whether we've gone too far with 'compassion'. People should be put
in their place when they clearly lack any aptitude in a particular
area, and not patronised. In our local contest it may be called
'spoiling the market'. It may kill off a kid's interest in the
sport or subject, but they should learn to deal with it, train or
try something else.
So the point is: people should be made to face up to their
weaknesses; anything that happens as a result (like choosing a
subject that is easier to score in) is just a reflection of their
character. What do you guys think? You can relate this to our
experiences in school in P.E. or art class, for instance.
