Topic
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
It is more important to give students prizes or awards for their efforts (trying) than for their achievements (successes or grades).
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
At my school, only the most outstanding students receive prizes and awards. I dislike this very much. I believe students should be given awards or prizes simply for trying rather than only for winning.
Presenting awards to students who try will help increase their confidence levels. Having more confidence will ensure that students perform better in the future. When all students who try receive a prize, trophy, or award, they will realize that, even though they did not come in first, they are still winners. This confidence will encourage them to continue trying as hard as they can. For example, my cousin’s school gives awards to every student who tries hard, no matter what his or her grades are. This makes those students feel proud of their accomplishments. This can only help them more in the future.
Even the worst students will try harder if they know they can be awarded for trying hard. This way of awarding students should motivate every student to participate in class activities. Many teachers complain that some students do nothing in their classes. The reason is that they have no incentive to try hard. They just know they will never come in first. However, if these same students know they can get a prize by trying, they will most likely work harder. Even if they do not do great work, they will be doing more than they had been previously. This will not only benefit these lower- ranking students but will also increase the level of performance of the entire class.
In short, schools should reward students for trying and not just give awards to the best students. This will help more students gain confidence and will encourage the worst students to try harder. I feel this system of awarding prizes is ideal for all schools.