An Introduction to the Project

This blog is an attempt to discover what actually happens when students compete, or do not compete, whichever the case may be. I am attempting to prove that competition is not only natural for students but also productive for their purpose in becoming better writers who wish to achieve more in their studies. There are several different ways in which students compete. Often, they will compare grades to see how far they need to go to catch up with the most advanced student in the class. Other times, they will actually be directed by the teacher to go up against each other in projects that will help display their learning. These are the two ways in which I believe the majority of classroom competition occurs.
Competition, when carried out only by the students, can be dangerous, but its benefits, I believe, outweigh its drawbacks. It serves a purpose in giving students some motivation to progress in their work. Without some sort of external motivation, I would venture to guess that few first-year writing students would care very much at all about their progress. There are, of course, a few students who are self-motivated and prefer to do work for their own reasons and not because they will receive a grade or win a prize, if you will. However, the number of students who lack this kind of drive outweighs those who possess it.
In this project, I will attempt to further explore the various modes of classroom competition and expound on theories about what makes students compete and succeed. I will also discuss the ways in which competitive pedagogy can influence students and prepare them for future work in the fields of business or academia. Most of our students will presumably be going into these areas and I would like to think that our job as teachers is to prepare them for these kinds of work environments. I would also like to discuss some of the ways in which competition in the classroom goes horribly wrong. If competition is not done correctly in a classroom, it can lend itself to an environment of resentment and/or bitterness not only with the teacher but also with the other students and even with the individual students themselves. In closing, I will compare some of my personal experiences with competition in classes and discuss what made those experiences productive and valuable for me personally.
My point is not to say that competition is necessary, but to suggest that it is a natural and healthy part of the learning process. In the end, the goal of the teacher should be to teach the students that competition with themselves is the most important. If a writer wishes to become great, he/she should always be working to outdo his/herself with every draft or project. When we strive to consistently make a better effort than the last, we learn that pushing ourselves creates better work.