Designated pilot examiner and FLYING contributor Jason Blair won the Internet last week with this line on his blog: Pilot certificates are not participation trophies. Well said, Mr. Blair, well said. The thought process behind the statement is that the high failure rate among private pilot applicants gives the impression that many are not being trained to minimum standards to achieve certification, rather the training is more like “check the boxes and go through the motions.’’
The Participation Trophy Mindset
Participation trophies have become cultural. If you are of a certain age and competed in anything during your childhood and youth—be it athletics, battle of the bands, speech club, etc.—you probably know what it is like to lose. Losing teaches a valuable life lesson: You can try your best but still fail. That is part of life. You learned from these failures. And when you were successful and came home with that medal, ribbon, trophy, or school letter you knew you earned it. Competition teaches a person how to work for something.
