Y’know, I keep hearing about these participation awards messing up kids but no one I talk to is able to demonstrate a single person that grew up with them and how the trophies messed them up. I feel it’s a condescending view of children that they don’t understand the implications of a ‘participation trophy’ when they get one. It’s not like they aren’t expected to do their work in school and their grading is an extension of how hard they work.