When we grow up, we remember from childhood only the things that were different and beautiful. Fortunately, time often erases or softens the memories of difficult moments.
Do you remember the mathematics competition you took part in when you were in the third grade of primary school? Of course you do – because it mattered, because at that moment you were special, because you may have competed against others and succeeded, but most importantly, you remember it because you overcame yourself.
Participation in competitions, showcases, and contests in any field and at any level has far-reaching positive effects on children’s cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development.
While preparing for competitions, students develop the habit of putting in extra effort, expanding their existing learning abilities or improving their skills in a particular activity. They develop attention, concentration, and determination, learn to make better connections between facts, understand what they read more deeply, and ultimately become children who, even at a young age, know and can achieve more.
By taking part in competitions, children practice completing tests that are often very different from regular school assessments. They learn how to overcome stage fright when a competition involves a performance. They learn how to work as part of a team, connect with others, and cooperate when the competition requires teamwork. Through competitions, students are also introduced, often for the first time, to external evaluation of their knowledge.
For competitions to bring all the benefits they undoubtedly can, students should be introduced to the “world” of competitions from the very beginning of their education, while school is still filled with play and curiosity. The role of teachers is to discover children’s talents and then, gradually, carefully, and without pressure, develop their desire to achieve more, guide them, support them, and encourage them for as long as needed.
How Do Competitions Influence Students’ Future Personal and Professional Success?
Stepping outside everyday activities, gaining new and often more engaging knowledge that their peers may not have, receiving individual guidance from a teacher-mentor, experiencing more objective assessment of knowledge, and participating in the serious organization behind every competition – all of this helps students’ self-confidence grow throughout the process, day by day, regardless of the final result.
Victory is earning a place in a competition, but victory is also the experience of “failure.” This experience of “failure” is what truly strengthens character, builds mental resilience, and helps young competitors mature faster and more naturally for future challenges.
Adults also play an important role in this process – teachers and parents alike. We are the ones who should help young competitors understand that, when it happens, the experience of “failure” is valuable, but also that the journey toward a goal, rather than the goal itself, is what matters most. It is the journey that enriches them and motivates them to become better today than they were yesterday.
The knowledge and skills that students gain during childhood, through challenges that help shape their character, remain their lifelong strengths. As the years go by, our young competitors will continue to shine, becoming capable and confident individuals – people who believe they can achieve anything, simply because they learned long ago, while everything was still filled with curiosity and play, how to make an effort and ultimately succeed.