By: Dr. Tom McDougal, CEO and Founder, Gylen Castle LLC
Recently, I have seen flying around social media that Finland’s educational system should be heralded as what America’s education system should become. Finland also has an economy that has contracted for four of the last five years1. Public spending accounts for 58% of GDP1. Population growth is negative1. And, the average individual tax rate is 51.6%2. But, damn, they have a heck of a good education system. That’s what we need to focus on.
A North Carolina Board of Education in Wake County has banned naming Valedictorians and Salutatorians3. For heaven’s sake we should not celebrate four years of outstanding academic achievement. Why? Because we don’t want to hurt the feelings of those that did not achieve these prestigious honors.
Our children are being trained to abhor competition and performance awards. Guess what? They will compete for the rest of their lives for jobs, raises, and even significant others. Sadly, they are not prepared for the battle of real life that lies ahead.
Between participation awards, not keeping score in sporting events, and even awards for good grades, success is becoming an evil word. That is so unfortunate. And, it will likely lead to the demise of our country at the current pace.
The American economy and the very fabric of why America has been so successful is because of our determination to win. Our forefathers decided that individualism, independence, and a determination to be excellent would be priorities. They believed it is not enough to be good but we needed to the best.
It is time for the American people to return to what has made us great – winning in competition. We need to start with training our children that competition is good. And, that winning is still a badge of honor.
Dr. Tom McDougal is a serial entrepreneur including founding Gylen Castle LLC, AlternaVisit, LLC, and Kerrera LLC. He also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Professor for the prestigious Brock School of Business at Samford University.
References:
1 http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21689751-nordic-laggard-can-forge-ahead-reforms
2 http://www.tradingeconomics.com/finland/personal-income-tax-rate
