Idiotic Ideas: "Let's Not Keep Score"

Crazy!

There are school districts in the country that have discontinued the practice of keeping score in games! No scoreboards!

Who are they kidding? Having kids compete in sports and not keeping score?!

The kids aren’t dumb.
It’s funny to hear reports that the kids keep score on their own. They are smarter than the parents! Even young kids are smart enough to know that there is no reason to play a game if you aren’t going to keep score.

Sure, there are always some overzealous parents at these games, but the solution is not to stop scoring. The solution is to exclude parents who can’t behave. 

The point of this is?
What do they think they are “teaching” their kids? Ribbons, trophies and medals for all—just for running around on a field? Life doesn’t work like that. You not only have to get in the game, you have to do well. If you aren’t any good you have to get better. Or find another sport. 

We want more emotional cripples?
Teaching kids to live in denial, to operate in a fantasy world of no judgement does nothing but create emotional cripples unable to deal with the tresses and realities of life. Sure its tough. Sure it hurts to lose. 

But if they can’t learn to handle the emotions of youth sports they’ll never survive in the real world. They need to be comforted, but its equally important that they be encouraged to stand up and fight and improve. Teaching them its good enough to show up and just go through the motions, that effort doesn’t really matter is idiotic and destructive.

Who comes up with this stuff?
Who are these eggheads who come up with these theories? How to they get to positions of authority? Somebody hasn’t been checking credentials, because this is nuts! They’re so out of touch they are oblivious to the fact that kids want a chance to become winners!

When you don’t keep score you deny that to them.

The real world has no use for these theories
Here is reality: In life you have to deliver. You have to perform. You have to meet standards. You have to get emotionally involved. 

If you want real jobs with responsibility and big income you have to be reliable. That ability is not inborn. It’s something that must be developed. 

Kids need chances to develop toughness
As you grow up, you need chances and opportunities to develop emotionally as well as intellectually. That happens by giving kids chances to perform and compete. They need to find out for themselves what levels of effort and intensity they need to exert. They need to develop their own coping skills to deal with disappointment. 

Let them compete! Let them learn how to overcome disappointment and Win! 

Let them keep score!

“I don't know anything that builds the will to win better than competitive sports.” —President Richard M. Nixon