Competition

Competition has been virtually banned in most schools.  Teachers are told that the losers will become discouraged and give up.

Well, kids go out of their way to find challenging video games.  And they don’t stop trying until they can beat them.  At Wimbledon (and any other tournament you care to mention), there are only a handful of winners—but the losers keep coming back for more every year.

Competition is a normal part of life.  Losing is a normal part of life.  Prizes mean nothing when everyone has one.  Most pupils understand this.

Competition works in schools, too.  At first, very few children are eager to study trigonometry or conjugate French verbs.  But if you make a competition out of it, they will do almost anything—you can even get boys reading fiction! [  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7976044/Extraordinary-School-for-Boys-helping-boys-love-literacy.html ]  And once they discover that they are good at a subject, they almost always enjoy it.

Competition is the best way to get children working in teams.  Winning depends upon close co-operation with your team-mates, irrespective of their age, ability or ethnic origin.  At Phoenix, competition between Houses and individuals will be a part of every day life.