We live in a world that is highly competitive. One has to perform well in order to be ahead of others and to establish an identity of their own. Therefore, it is good to have a competitive mindset in order to outperform ourselves for our own growth. Educators can foster an environment that encourages healthy competition in schools and in the minds of students. You can conduct various competitions to provide students with an opportunity to refine their talents.

In this article, you will learn different ways in which you can encourage healthy competition in schools.

Participation Matters

You can encourage your students to participate in various school competitions. Make sure they are aware of how participation can help them develop their skillsets. Students who participate in competitions will have to perform in front of an audience. Hence, competition in schools will help students to develop self-confidence. Moreover, they will be able to overcome problems like stage fright. Additionally, students would have the chance to socialize and learn a lot from other peers. You can assure your students that it is not always about winning the competition but rather being a part of it and learning from it.

It is Never a Failure

In a competition winning and losing are all part of the package. You can educate your students that everyone cannot be a winner and therefore failures are bound to happen. Make them understand that “failures are stepping stones towards success”. When one fails in a competition, it gives him/her the opportunity to do a self-analysis and self-reflect to understand his/her shortcomings and strengths. That is one of the key aspects of healthy competition. Hence, failures are always an opportunity to learn about oneself. By keeping all these in mind, they can aim toward getting better and upscaling their skills.

Motivate Your Students

When pupils underperform in a competition, there is a high possibility that the students will lose motivation. Even their self-worth and confidence may be impacted. Teachers should therefore intervene in these circumstances in order to encourage healthy competition in their students. Teachers can help children realize that just though they don't win in a competition, it doesn't make them failures or less capable than others. Instead, teachers can assist students in realizing that they have the opportunity to identify the factors affecting their performance negatively. Consequently, they now have the chance to become better.

Treat Everyone Equally

Every teacher should treat their students equally. Competition does not determine the talents of a student. If a student fails in a competition, make sure that the other students are not bullying him/her. In addition, make sure you don’t degrade them in front of others. You may call them and provide feedback so that they can improve their performance next time. You can also give them tips and tricks to perform better. You may distribute participation trophies or prizes to all the students who participated in the competition, to keep them motivated and to foster healthy competition in schools.

Keep Them Away from Pressure

Some students may find competitions to be stressful, which may have an impact on their mental health. Ensure that no outside forces are putting pressure on them to win the competition. Additionally, you can encourage students to take part in a competition, but you should watch out that neither you nor the students' parents force them into taking part in a competition in which they have no interest. Individuals' interests differ, thus they might not be interested in a competition that their parents want them to participate in. You may advise parents to respect their children's preferences and not compare them to other kids if they don't do well in a competition in order to promote healthy competition.

Reward the Best Performers

Schools can reward the best performers in a competition to encourage healthy competition. Students will be motivated to reach the first position with the aim of achieving the rewards. They will work harder and work on their skillsets to reach heights. Moreover, it would be a confident booster to the winner who has worked hard to reach that position. As mentioned above, you can also distribute participation prizes to all the participants to encourage them to take part in the competition next time with better performance.

Conclusion

Healthy competition in schools fosters confidence among students and encourages them to perform better. These competitions aid them to be equipped to face the challenges of the outside world and the competitive future that lays ahead of them. In addition, they help them to do their own research and come up with innovative ways in which they can perform better and be ahead of their peers. It is imperative that students acquire a healthy competitive spirit so that they can develop and upscale their skills. You may refer to these points that are mentioned in the article in order to encourage healthy competition in schools.

Teachmint is one of the leading education infrastructure providers in the country. With our advanced learning management system, you can improve the teaching-learning experience. Our offerings like education erp, admission management system, fee management system, and others conveniently digitize educational institutions.

Suggested Read: Interactive School Activities for Students