My first reaction was, 'Whoa, that's someone with *no* filter!'
Not only can I imagine myself saying those things, I have said them -- but only to immediate family members, out of earshot of anyone else. I also assume many of the parents at my son's school (over half the families are immigrants), who fit the stereotype of 'tiger parents', are saying the exact same things in privacy.
By 'family members', I mean my husband, in-laws, *and* children. Yes, I encourage my kids to be competitive in academics, so they are included in conversations about, say, who is likely to win a merit scholarship at the high schools they're applying to, or what order they are likely to place in at math competitions.
It's possible to do this in a healthy way, I think. Ds's school encourages it, but only within limits: teachers strike a good balance between individual and team pursuits, and they stress the importance of both winning and losing graciously.
This atmosphere has been very beneficial to my son. He learns important lessons every year, ones that don't come easily or naturally to him: hard work pays off; failure is part of learning; it's possible to learn from your peers; your friends root for you no matter what.
Stepping back a bit -- it brings up the issue of motivation: is just learning something enough, or do we have to make a competition out of it? I see among my students a few who value knowledge and understanding for their own sake; for others, they are a means to an end; and still others fall somewhere in between. I would say that some level of comfort with a competitive atmosphere will probably come in handy for most people, perhaps especially those who were born without that 'fire in the belly', that burning urge to compete.
