From:
Submit: Post Field Note
VisitDate: 00/00/96
Date: 05 Oct 1996
Time: 23:04:14
Remote Name: tsb-49.ucsc.edu
Name- M. , Age- 10, Female
M. and I sat on the floor in the computer room and played the board game Sorry, which neither one of us intially knew how to play. We then played another game that she already knew how to play yet I did not. M. and I were just getting to know each other so our convesation was slow, mostly consisting of reading the cards out loud, counting our moves, and whatever instructions for the game that we needed to go over. M. won ALL three games (twice on the second game), and she became more happy, talkative, and directive (by giving instructions, warning me of wrong moves, directing what we should do next etc.) as the games progressed.
M's talkativeness and more confident demeanor was a marked changed from the quiet more reserved girl I orginally begun playing with. It seemed evident to me that winning agreed with her. As a child I too liked to win games, but I can't recall how exactly it made me feel. Did I feel smarter? Better than the person I was playing with? More confident? It was interesting for me to see how being the winner (which she reminded me she was) may have caused such changes in her. Or maybe I was just then seeing her as she truly was, a confident, assertive little girl.
How important is "winning" to kids feeling of confidence and competence. Would M. have been as assertive, comfortable and self assured had I been the only one winning the games? If I had been another child who was on the "losing" side, how would that have changed the dynamics of the game and how each child changed in deamenor or confidence when the games were over?
Is it important to create more situations where kids can be the "winners" thereby creating experiences for kids that foster confidence and competence? Are kids experiencing enough "winning" situations?