📘 Part 3: Prizes and awards at school

This episode's vocabulary

Curriculum (noun) - the subjects studied in a school, college, etc. and what each subject includes.

Trigger (verb) - to cause something to start.

Dopamine (noun) - a hormone (= chemical substance) that is made naturally in the body and may also be given as a drug.

Excel (verb) - to be extremely good at something.

Engagement (noun) - the process of encouraging people to be interested in the work of an organization, etc..

Contest (noun) - a competition to do better than other people, usually in which prizes are given.

Insofar as (conjunction) -  to the degree that.

Embody (verb) - to represent a quality or an idea exactly.

Revile (verb) - to criticize someone strongly, or say unpleasant things to or about someone.

Precede (verb) - to be or go before something or someone in time or space.

Megalomaniac (noun) - someone who has an unnaturally strong wish for power and control, or thinks that they are much more important and powerful than they really are.

Esteem (verb) - to respect someone or have a good opinion of them.

Tangible (adj.) - real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced.

Betterment (noun) - improvement.

Precedence (noun) - the order of importance given to people in particular societies, groups, or organizations.

Righteous (adj) - morally correct.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you ready?

R: Yes.

M: Good. Let's talk about prizes and awards at school. What do children often receive prizes for at school.

R: Oh, I think the most common ones would be for their schoolwork and maybe the skills they develop at school as part of the curriculum or outside of it. So for example, you could be given something for getting good grades, or for producing an excellent piece of work according to some kind of fixed criteria. You can also join clubs and teams at school and win prizes that way, for example, like, if you're on the swim team, then you can win a prize for that if you do well.

M: Why do children like to receive prizes?

R: For the same reason everybody does. Triggers that nice release of dopamine in your head, and it makes you feel good for getting attention. And you feel the sense of being recognized for an achievement and a sense of pride in what you've done. Who wouldn't want that feeling in their life at least once or twice?

M: Is it better for children to receive a prize for schoolwork or for sport?

R: I'm not sure either is better than the other. We all excel in different areas, why not give an equal amount of time to both or as much as they demand?

M: Let's talk about competitions for adults. Why do many companies run competitions with prizes for customers?

R: Well, that's all about customer engagement and encouraging return trips to their stores and making more money as a result. So if you have a chance to win something by well buying a certain number of a select product, why wouldn't you do that? Of course, often, the odds are stacked against you or the prizes are useless. So it's important to keep that in mind too.

M: Why do some people like to enter many competitions?

R: Oh, a certain percentage of people are just more competitive, aren't they? And they have this need to win that pushes them in a particular direction. A pull factor could be a value in the award itself, in psychological or physical terms. Like cash prize at the end, or a sense of achievement and respect from others can be great motivating factors.

M: It's only worth entering a competition if there is a valuable prize. Would you agree?

R: Oh, I'm not sure about that. Sometimes life is less about the destination and more about the journey you go on, like getting ready for a contest like tough mudder is an example of how it can be its own reward just participating, since your fitness improves, and you can help people by doing it for charity, and you get to have fun along the way.

M: Scotland.

R: Freedom.

M: Quality. Let's talk about national and international awards. How important is it for a country to recognize it's most successful citizens?

R: Well, insofar as they embody the spirit of the nation and the culture that it holds dear, that's quite important.

M: Okay. What could be the impact of winning a major prize, such as a national award, Nobel Prize on a person's life.

R: I imagine a great deal of media interest and public attention in a in addition to any prize money that comes with it, they would have kind of mixed results depending on your personality. Like for lots of people that would help them resolve problems or draw attention to causes they champion, but it could be quite corrosive and turn you into something of a megalomaniac as well.

M: Is making a positive contribution to society more important than being rewarded for the contribution.

R: Oh, that will depend entirely on what you value in esteem. If you only care about being seen as a good person, and many who virtue signal are guilty of this, then the reward of recognition or something more tangible will be more valuable than the action itself. Alternatively, if you care more for people because like you're already satisfied within your soul, that you're doing the right thing, then the betterment of society will take precedence. You can see this in some of the people that have been given... Oh, what is it like? Righteous amongst the nations. So lots of these people saved 1000s of people from the Nazis and then went right back to working their normal lives. And they were just content in the knowledge that they had done the right thing and they didn't seek any glory. You could learn a lot from an example like that.

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