I teach several competitive programming high school teams. On one hand, I hate it, for exactly some of the reasons on this thread. On the other hand, high sch

I teach several competitive programming high school teams. On one hand, I hate it, for exactly some of the reasons on this thread. On the other hand, high school bands compete for trophys too... who ever thought to have competitive orchestras? people are competitive, and competitions motivate. They aren't for everybody, but for some, they find it valuable. The competition and the coding ability are two separate life skills, forced together in the crucible of the high school education system. I cannot criticize the motivation, or the fact that my students in high school can solve problems many professionals I know cannot. I can criticize that the competitive spirit marginalizes some of the groups we need to Encourage more.