Boys , Video Games, and School

October 2020

"Games are not the cause, they are a symptom." BINGO

https://www.ted.com/talks/ali_carr_chellman_gaming_to_re_engage_boys_in_learning

School is for girls.  We know it.  Girls know it.  Boys know it.  We can engage more boys in school if we tap into their interests.  Teachers know this.  Teachers and parents dismiss their games as frivolous.  We try to get them to focus on other things, ignoring the activities that appeal to them.  We can no longer do things in school the way we've always done them.  2020 has shown us that, loud and clear.

Boys have been engaging in "rough and tumble" play since the dawn of time.  Early childhood educators and psychologists and other experts know this.  It is how they use aggression in a playful way.  Boys play football and rugby, and participate in wrestling.  We don't categorize these violent activities as harmful.  When you use guns and weapons in a video game, however, it seems different to us.  It just does.  Killing is wrong, and awful, and we cannot imagine why boys want to do it.  Very little research has been done that actually asks children WHY they like to play these violent, first-person shooter games.  The research that has been done, however, suggests that it's the camaraderie they get playing with others, not the killing aspect, that they crave.  It's the sense of belonging and the feeling of accomplishment.  Video games (violent and non-violent) provide self-directed forms of play for children.  For other players (adolescents and adults), the violence in the video game actually IS a draw to the game.  They report that it helps them to act out feelings of rage or frustration in a virtual world without actually hurting anyone in the real world.  These games are a catharsis for them, and possibly an escape from horrible life experiences or circumstances.

The challenge to today's teachers (yes, in addition to everything else they're dealing with right now, which seems totally unfair), is HOW can we re-engage boys in school?  Perhaps digital/virtual learning provides the perfect backdrop for this.  I am not suggesting that teachers try to do even more than they're doing right now, because it's not even close to possible.  However, this is something to keep in mind, for now, and for when schools return to full-time face-to-face teaching.  Let them write about their games.  Let them research their games.  Let them use their games for math lessons.  Let them create stories about their games, with alternative endings or possible outcomes.  Relate their games to current events, history, science (is that explosion possible in real life?) and literature genres (fantasy, historical fiction, or realistic fiction?).  The ideas are endless, if only we allow ourselves to think in such an inclusive way.

Side note: In some age ranges, the number of female video-game players actually outpaces males.  Girls are increasingly becoming members of the video game community.  Also, gender differences are obviously not 100% across the board.  Anyone who suggests that is obviously living in another century.  The point here is: We cannot disregard boys' (or any child's) outside-of-school interest - even if we disapprove - if we expect them to engage with us in school.  Full stop.