TOW #2 "The Problem with Prize Culture"

"The Problem With Prize Culture" is a Time article written by Hilary Levey Friedman, a PhD of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is also the author of Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture. 

Today, every kid is categorized by age, previous achievement, and type of performance. Whether it be a sport, dance, chess or another competitive activity, every participant is ranked based on their ability. In the article, Friedman cites that the U.S.'s culture of increasingly embracing prizes and awards has major consequences. Although Friedman addresses the counter argument and admits that awards help people set goals for themselves and encourage them to practice their activity, she argues that overall, awards are essentially a business practice that ensures the return of clients and actually do more harm than good. According to psychological research, giving kids rewards for accomplishing an activity actually lowers levels of intrinsic motivation. Friedman insists that motivation is exactly what we need to encourage as this allows kids to reach long-term success and pride in a well-earned achievement.

Friedman's informal tone and use of the first person pronoun suggests that she is trying to establish credibility by making the article more personal. Her constant mentioning of her goal to maintain the well-being of kids may be to appeal first to an immediate audience of parents and then to an extended audience of media, which she accuses of promoting "the carving up of honor". To convince the audience that the "trophy culture" has gone too far, Friedman makes allusions to media and uses exemplification of popular children's activities. One example that she uses is the United States Chess Federation, who she states is the most precise when it comes to ranking. The organization publishes a list of the top winners for each age group every three months, ranking the participants on their public website. Any one can see it, allowing people to become more aware of their position in the hierarchy. In addition, Friedman references Dance Moms, a show that has a wide audience, which has as weekly "pyramid" showing how dancers performances compare to their peers. By using well supported examples that the audience recognizes, and appealing to pathos, Friedman is able to effectively communicate her argument.