Education vs. Video games

From the time a young boy gets into middle school, video games and school virtually instantly become bitter rivals. Reading and writing recreationally at a potential level could be on an amazing tool for gaining reading comprehension, spelling, and even language development, but that can only go so far. Motivation and “attention-getters” are what most students struggle with and when sat down with an encyclopedia and an ink pen, distractions become a necessity. But when they sit in front of the big-screen killing drug dealers with an AK-47, they know all of the ins-and-outs of that video game, at the same time; the book is still waiting to be read. Students have to be taught in a way that allows them to embrace learning and video games together.

To most junior high students, reading is a drag, reading to them is a meaningless a waste of time. If students could be stimulated in the way video games stimulate them, the education industry would have a whole new arsenal of teaching mechanics. According to Use of Video Games (2007), John Kirriemuir and Angela McFarlane actually had a survey on how using video games is “pure” way to intrigue students with learning with outstanding results. Having an education is a must for today’s society; most fast food joints will not hire anyone with an education for an upper position. Video games are so in-depth and the plots are so detailed, the players are learning more about how to set up a battle strategy than how to set up an equation in a math class. If dropout rates continue increasing, our hope for a bright future will surely dwindle. If this epidemic continues to spread, laziness and lethargy will soon be the only “monkey on our backs” and life will commence operation ‘shut-down’. From yea...

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...n to climb. If sensible individuals find a way to convert the masses to an intensive, time efficient learning machine, the hopes and worries of everyday citizens will soon dissipate.

Works Cited

- Kirriemuir, JK, McFarlane, A, (2003) Use of Computer and Video Games in the

Classroom. Proceedings of the Level Up Digital Games Research Conference,

Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands. Electronically Received May 17, 2010, from http://www.silversprite.com/

- Oak, M, (2000). Positive Effects of Video Games. Buzzle.com. Electronically Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-video-games.html

- Ferrer, P. The Impact of Video Games on Society. Helium. Electronically Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.helium.com/items/1230702-bad-effects-of-video-games-impacts-of-video-games-in-the-society-negative-effects-of-video-games