Sorry, Bostonian, I'm with MON on this one. Twenty plus years later, I still recall teachers holding my work up for praise and leading me to be ridiculed in the hallways by my high school peers. The worst event involved my chemistry teacher singling me out as the only person who scored 100% on her exam. I could feel the loathing from my classmates and actually had one of the other students threaten to give me food poisoning before the next test. I don't know anyone who was motivated to do better by my academic success. I didn't learn the same way as most of my peers. They knew that I was different and every time a teacher held up my work, it just reinforced their perception. Sometimes I think that these teachers never went to high school.
Maybe there is a sex difference here. I think more boys than girls may be motivated by competition. My classmates did not loathe me for being one of the best students. Instead I was often the person they asked for help from, especially in math and science.
There are likely cultural differences regarding the value of competition. In many countries class ranks are displayed publicly, with little regard to students' feelings. The Tiger Mother famously wrote, only half joking, that her children were not allowed to
• attend a sleepover
• have a playdate
• be in a school play
• complain about not being in a school play
• watch TV or play computer games
• choose their own extracurricular activities
• get any grade less than an A
• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin.
