I think so. Call me old-fashioned, but I've got to believe that there is a way to acknowledge the empirical fact that one of the kids is the fastest and celebrate his/her accomplishment without irrevocably damaging the self-esteem of the other children in the process.

Be very, very curious to hear the reaction you get to this overall!

I say absolutely! As a former college track athlete, I have to say that I loved competition even when I was 8 years old :-)

What a fantastic question. I say, "Yes." The point of school is to prepare children for life. In life, there are definitely contests, and there are definitely winners, and there are things that you do as a competitor in the contests that definitely impact how you place.

I think teachers and parents would do better to teach their children how to prepare and how to deal with victory and defeat than to try to avoid having to deal with it by pretending it's not there. One guy's $0.02.

Competition is part of human civilization, not just American and games are ancient and cross-cultural. I believe there is much to be learned from winning, for both the winner and those who do not.

I vote yes with the parents.