Competition or cooperation: A difficult choice for teachers and parents
By Anita Giri
Bal Vidhya Mandir Secondary School, Kohlpur, Banke, Nepal
Most of the time, competition and cooperation are considered
rivals to each other. Though most people stand in favor of competition, at
least it seems. They suggest that our students and our children should be
taught the sense of competition.
Competition actually begins the day a child is born. And competition is everywhere. The truth has it that nothing can be achieved in life without facing competition and this is a reality. Preparation for competition actually enables one to grab many opportunities. Such opportunities cannot materialize if the person is not prepared for the opportunity. Now the question is what makes them able to benefit from such opportunities. For this, a simple answer is preparation for the competition.
Thus, it can be said that competition is the essence of
life. This may be the reason many scholars suggest parents and teachers should
encourage children for the sense of competition.
On the other hand, other groups of scholars disagree with
those scholars who support competition. They suggest that it is not
competition, but cooperation is more invaluable in life to succeed. Humans are
social beings, and they live in a society. We show sympathy and empathy with
people and this very human nature makes them distinct in the animal kingdom.
The most important thing about cooperation is inclusiveness.
Cooperation believes in taking everyone together in a group. So that every
member of a group feels himself or herself safe and secured. Well, this is not
the case with competition. The other name of competition is selfishness. There
is no place for others. It is only ‘I’ or ‘me’ or ‘my’…no one is counted.
If truth has to be spoken, then I suggest both skills are equally important. To make our children all-rounders and multi talented, then it is necessary to teach them both skills: competition as well as cooperation.



Such a nice talent
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