Spoiler alert: humans are competitive creatures. We will compete for food, mates, soccer goals, success in the capitalist economy—and even M&Ms if you catch us right before lunch.

But we're also great collaborators. You can see it in how we structure our communities, play team sports, and—wait for it—learn.

As teachers, we're in charge of harnessing the good that both competition and collaboration can do while minimizing those negative effects.

According to Finnish journalist Anu Partanen, competition kills some students' love of learning—even to the point of pushing the U.S. down the ladder on international education rankings. She points out that Finland is doing nearly the polar opposite of the U. S. and yet, their scores on international tests soar ever higher. Oh, and there's that little thing about how they aren't even competing. Rather, Finland emphasizes collaboration over competition. And that collaboration can be between students, teachers, and even schools. (Source)

Sure, there's a bit of a diss on the U.S. in there. But, overall, this is good news: collaboration helps foster learning.

Here's the problem: kids like to win.

Does that mean we should throw out competition altogether, as Partanen suggests? Probs not. There are real benefits of competition in the classroom, and chances are we're not getting rid of those right away—no matter what Finland says.

So, the benefits of competition. When you have tasks that require speed (such as knowing times tables off the top of your head), competition can be a great tool (source). It can make processes where students recall and recite information more efficient. If you want your students to put away book bags, turn in their homework, or get to their desks within 30 seconds, a little competition can be a lot of fun (and save a lot of time).

Beware, though, that not all students enjoy such competition, and the use of these techniques aren't necessarily the greatest of go-tos for the pedagogical aspects of your class. Getting to your seat before the teacher counts to ten is one thing—getting last place in a multiplication tables race feels just a little bit worse.

So when you're thinking about integrating competition into the class, think about whether the activity you're considering might, perhaps, in some way, totally backfire.

For little Shmooplettes, after all, there's a fine line between the fun of a friendly competition and that sinking feeling of getting left behind. And you've got to be aware of those students who don't exactly feel the thrill of competition as a thrill, or who feel they lose all the time, or are so scared of losing they don't even want to participate.

Keeping fragile feelings in mind, we can't forget: sometimes kids need to know how to compete. How else are they going to, uh, get a job?