When you give every kid a trophy, they all think that they are winners. We have raised a generation of children who have been infantilized and sheltered throughout their childhood and college years. The inevitable result, unfortunately, is a generation of adults that lack the ability to tackle adversity, think critically, or make valid self-assessments (something that is difficult even for the most enlightened). We have a system of social and academic promotion that has virtually no relation to objective metrics. Many universities (and law schools), even the most prestigious, are eliminating objective admission standards because so many applicants are unable to meet them. Its no surprise that those who have been conditioned since birth to believe that they are entitled to "achievements" have an inflated view of their abilities. The steady decline in literacy, critical thinking, and overall competence (from already low historical levels) mirrors the steady decline and atrophication of our society as a whole.
Oh fuck off with the trophies. I never wanted them. I got a 6th place ribbon for high jump, a "most improved shooter" trophy in the range club, and a "participant" ribbon in an elementary school basketball league where they explicitly didn't keep score during games. I knew I was a terrible athlete and the ridiculous trophies and ribbons were humiliating. I certainly never got the idea I was a winner.
The reality is, all of then knows difference between participation tropey and winning. Maybe trophies smooth over feeling bad for not being winner, maybe not, I dunno. Obsessing over them is ridiculous on its own sake.
Top schools are more competitive then ever. High schoolers need to adjust their whole life to have a chance to get in. Competitions are harder then ever.
Kids spend way more time in organized activities to get every bit of performance out of them - the only exception is likely football which is suspect of destroying their brains.
On average, kids have little time to just play around without working on something.
This is what happens when the educational system concentrates on emotional safety vs actually exposing students to what is happening in the real world. In real life, you also have to come to the realization that there are winners and losers in life, that it is not fair etc.. When a system focuses on preventing someone form experiencing any discomfort, this is a natural result of it.
http://college.usatoday.com/2016/07/18/columbia-and-barnard-...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/03/0...
https://www.fairtest.org/schools-do-not-use-sat-or-act-score...