Competition and Pride: Education Success

Competition and Pride: The Key to Educational Success


Nobel Prize winner Anatole France says, "Nine tenths of education is encouragement"(College of the Siskiyous, 2008, para. 1). High school dropout rates have continued to be a problem in public schools for many years. The State of Michigan can battle high school dropout rates by implementing a program that stresses competitiveness and pride; such a program would build confidence, self esteem, pride on accomplishments, increase the desire to learn, increase student achievement, increase the ability to deal with stressful situations, eliminate boredom, and therefore ultimately lower dropout rates.


Michigan's high school dropout rate is higher than the national average. The national average reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics (2009) is 9%. According to the Department of Education (DOE) (2009), Michigan has an average dropout rate of 14.19%. Muskegon school districts are higher than the state average. Dropout rates for Muskegon school districts are as follows: Fruitport Schools 14.6%., Muskegon City Schools 21.18%, Muskegon Heights Schools 22.94%, Oakridge Public Schools 19.59%, and Orchard View Schools 20.95%. When comparing the previously mentioned school districts with those of higher income, listed below, it can be seen that students are more likely to drop out of school in lower income schools, than students of middle and higher income school districts. Mona Shores has a dropout rate of 6.83%, Reeths-Puffer has a dropout rate of 5.86%, and North Muskegon has a 0% dropout rate. Michigan needs to close the gap between income groups by addressing the causes for these dropout statistics. A program designed to give students a sense of pride would lower the dropout rate of all income groups and achieve a goal dropout rate of less than one percent regardless of income class.


A program designed to model how businesses build company pride and build loyalty in workers through competition should be a model used to establish a competition and pride based program in public schools. Competition within a school, between classrooms for the highest grade in a class, is the first step. The next step is to create a competition between schools of the same income status and area. After implemented in schools competition is broadened to include cities, counties, and ultimately states. The competition is designed to create a sense of pride and accomplishment for each student, pride for their school, and pride in their education. This program will address the causes not addressed by current programs and work on areas such as: self-esteem, pride on accomplishments, lack of achievement, ability to deal with stressful situations, and boredom. The friendly competition will be promoted through classroom rewards, hallway posters, pep rallies, teacher encouragement, city acknowledgements, and television, radio, and newspaper advertisements. This program will increase in success as children are encouraged from elementary school, through middle school, and continued until high school graduation.


Competitiveness has been proven effective in areas where already applied, such as business and sports. Businesses have used competition within the company to instill loyalty, goal setting, motivation, pride, and increased quality. In business, competition has created “a culture that fosters happy, motivated, and empowered staff. This approach results in lower employee turnover and absentee rates” (Reed Business Information, 2005, para. 1). Happy and motivated children are what schools want to achieve. Fewer turnovers in school would mean fewer dropouts. A competition-based program would foster “happy, motivated, and empowered” children, and achieve a goal of a lower dropout rate.


Competition is not a new development in the workplace. In addition to competition developing an increased quality in the workplace, it can also create increased quality in the classroom. In a survey by Comtex (2007), “Nearly nine out of ten respondents who reported competitive office environments said this professional dynamic enhances employee productivity.” A competitive based program will enhance the quality of education for children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Competition will encourage them to try harder for a better grade and give them an instant reward of inner pride for that accomplishment. It will encourage higher quality work from each student as individuals, as well as a school. Not only will a program of competition help lower dropout rates, but also it will boost students’ overall grades.


There are many benefits for competition in business. “These include making employees take pride in the firm they work for… recognizing and rewarding quality work, and creating a work environment that promotes teamwork and raises employee morale” (Siegel, 1992, para. 1). It has already been established that competition can improve quality, but competition can also improve teamwork and morale. Students need to have pride in the school they attend regardless of city, school, or income class. Teamwork is an important lesson to learn in school.
A program of competitiveness will encourage students to set goals, encourage participation, and require students to work as a team. Just as in sports, teamwork and participation is an important element in developing growth in children. Teamwork is not only important in sports activities, such as soccer and football, but also in the workplace. In preparation for the workplace, schools teach teamwork. Competition is another system that has proven effective in developing teamwork. When implemented in schools, it will encourage teamwork by encouraging all students to work for a higher average class grade, a higher average school grade, and a higher average state grade. When working as a team, students will be happier in their work, more pleased with their achievements, and prouder of their school. This boost in teamwork and morale will increase pride, and lower dropout rates.


Competitiveness urges students to set goals. Setting goals is a stepping-stone to achievement. “By setting goals, and measuring their achievement, you are able to see what you have done and what you can do” (University of New Hampshire Counseling Center, 2006). Lower income students have been told that they cannot succeed because of circumstances such as teen pregnancy, abusive or absentee parents, lack of opportunities, etc. By setting goals and achieving those goals, children will be able to see firsthand what they can do. By learning to set goals, students will develop a can-win attitude because they will see the successes they are achieving. They will view, regardless of their current situation, that they can make and achieve goals. This view of success will encourage students to stay in school and not dropout.


The mental rewards of learning to set goals through competition are another reason why this program will be a success. In lower class neighborhoods, rewards and recognitions will lead to even greater success, because of the internal rewards of achievement. This will increase the happiness of students in lower income school districts. This happiness has been proven to increase success. Paul Truer from the University of Minnesota Duluth (2006) says, “Often success in an endeavor leads to more interest and a greater desire to learn, creating an upward spiral of motivation toward a goal you have established.” Success and greater interest in school will lead to a lower dropout rate.


A program of competitiveness will create pride and a sense of accomplishment in students. Competitiveness over grades is used in Ivy League schools. Students do not attend those schools because of a football team, but they do attend because they know the quality of education received at those schools. They have a strong sense of pride while attending and after graduating from Ivy League schools. Constant encouragement with competition will help foster pride for public schools, as it has done for Ivy League schools. Encouragement has always been important in helping students achieve their full potential. “There have been many studies over the last decade that have shown time and again that encouragement and support of students increases their attainment of knowledge” (College of the Siskiyous, 2008, para. 4). Encouragement works for all students in every grade level and every income bracket. Encouragement will foster the sense of pride missing in public schools. By starting in elementary school, students will already have a sense of pride and accomplishment when they enter high school. A program of competitiveness will create pride in students toward the school they attend.


This program is the best solution, because it will give them necessary skills to deal with difficult situations outside of school by raising self-esteem and giving them the needed coping skills to deal with life outside of the classroom. Competitiveness helps by “teaching new mental skills and strategies…helping cope more effectively with persona issues in their lives, such as relationship concerns or depression, and by helping them learn to work more effectively as teammates” (University of North Texas, 2005). Needed coping skills will encourage students to look beyond their current situation and still strive to achieve their goals. Abbe Smith, from the New Haven Register, says President Obama’s Education speech, in 2009, included this point, “Obama’s message stayed away from politics and instead urged kids not to let life circumstances keep them from pursuing their goals.” Competition will develop pride in school, pride in grades, and pride in self. This pride will foster a desire for children to reach the goals that they learn to set through this program.


Although some critics believe that the cost of creating such a program would be impossible to achieve because of the current economy, this is not the case. The dollar amount for creating a competitive program would be minimal. Advertising would be the largest expense through television, newspapers, and radio. This expense can be offset by tax deductions for donated newspaper space, radio airtime, and television time. Aside from advertising, the rest of the program does not require much in the form of money. A competitive program between schools would require time and energy on the part of educators and parent volunteers, but the outcome from the program would be well worth the effort.


Competitiveness can have its drawbacks. It must be applied with an attitude of accomplishment regardless of who wins in the end. Over competitiveness can lead to more stress, discourage learning, and erase any positive effects achieved. However, when applied properly, with encouragement, competitiveness can motivate, build confidence, raise self-esteem, create pride, increase school performance, and in turn lower dropout rates.


Although many believe that current, alternate programs, designed to achieve a high school diploma in a non-traditional format, will solve the problem of the dropout rate. Data shows the percentage of dropouts is higher in alternate programs than in traditional high school settings. According to the DOE, 2009, Fruitport Alternative High School has a dropout rate of 62.50%, and Orchard View Community Education has a dropout rate of 69.66%. Muskegon City School District’s alternative schools have over a 55% dropout rate. These programs do not address the issues of self-esteem, teamwork, goal setting, and pride which are qualities greatly desired by employers.


Competitiveness has been used for many years in business and sports. A program of competitiveness, on a child's level, would increase self-esteem, pride, build teamwork skills, and encourage goal setting. In return for instilling these qualities, children will achieve the same results of low turnover in business by lowering the dropout rate for high schools. Schools can start to expand the competitiveness between classes without an added expense.


References


College of Siskiyous. (2008). Encouragement and support: Increasing persistence and Success. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from http://www.siskiyous.edu/sloassessment/oas/blog/briefs.html

Comtex. (2007). Employee Competition Boosts Productivity, say advertising and marketing executives. CNW Group. Retrieved November 18, 2009, from General BusinessFile ASAP database.

Department of Education. (2009). Superintendent’s dropout challenge. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-5235_5392--,00.html

National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Fast facts. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from National Center for Education Statistics database.

Reed Business Information. (2005). Employee pride goes wide: A happy, motivated, and empowered staff results in lower employee turnover and absentee rates. Graphic Arts Monthly V77 (2). Retrieved November 18, 2009 from
General BusinessFile ASAP database.

Siegel, R. (1992). Seven steps to keep top performers. Public Relations Journal V48(2). Retrieved November 18, 2009, from General BusinessFile ASAP database.

Smith, A. (2009). Speech on education mainly well received. New Haven Register. Retrieved November 18, 2009, from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database.

Treuer, P. (2006). Motivation. Retrieved on November, 21, 2009, from http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/acad/strat/motivate.html

University of New Hampshire Counseling Center. (2006). Goal setting. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http://www.unhcc.unh.edu/resources/goal-setting.html

University of North Texas. (2005). Sports psychology: It’s not just for athletes anymore. Performance Excellence: Center for Sport Psychology Newsletter Vol. 7(2). Retrieved November, 20, 2009, from http://www.sportpsych.unt.edu