iGame Radio

An article from Popular Science magazine a couple of days ago talked about how New York is launching a public school curriculum around playing games. The Quest to Learn (Q2L) school, based in Manhattan, is using games such as Little Big Planet and Civilization, as well as board games such as Settlers of Catan, to contribute to the learning process.

An excerpt from the article:

In one sample curriculum, students create a graphic novel based on the epic Babylonian poem “Gilgamesh,” record their understanding of ancient Mesopotamian culture though geographer and anthropologist journals, and play the strategic board game “Settlers of Catan.” Google Earth comes into play as a tool to explore the regions of ancient Mesopotamia.

The school idea came from a nonprofit called Institute of Play, with support from Parsons School for Design. Currently, the school receives financial backing from donors such as the Gates Foundation, Intel, and the MacArthur Foundation up to about $1 million, but New York City plans to take over funding by 2015.

in reading the article, one of the things that struck me was not the article itself, but the comments afterward. Many of the comments were all excited by the idea of a game-based school curriculum, one that diversified the education process and provided multiple means for learning to get into the brain. But there were a few who questioned it, and every single one brought up as one of their main (if not their main) issue being how much it would cost. And the way they worded it, their opinion came across as “how can I reduce my children’s education cost as low as possible?”

Excuse me? This is our children’s future we’re talking about here. It costs, people, to educate them properly. If you weren’t willing to put the money in for a good education, you should have bought the condom. There’s a cheap cost for you. And a one time expense.