The Prof
Dr Leonard Sax is a learned man. He's also set up the National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE) because boys and girls shouldn't study together. He's also got opinions on video games.
Talking to Bermuda's Royal Gazette newspaper Dr Sax says, "while most people over 40 have never heard of a video game called Call of Duty Modern Warfare, it's known in every classroom."
Interesting take on the video gamer demographic that one. But there's more from the Prof, "Parents don't realise how incredibly good these games are."
They should probably have a go then. What do parents know? "The technology has become so advanced. We grew up with Pacman and Space Invaders. Those games were silly and not particularly engrossing or addictive."
Eh? Pacman and Space Invaders were dull and not engrossing? How the hell did we get an industry out of them then?
What does all this mean for boys? "These games give a false sense of accomplishment. I have spoken to so many boys. Their parents are frustrated because the sons are staying up past midnight to play the latest game, when they have a French language examination the next day, or a maths test or an essay due."
And there's more. "Many people over 40 assume that accomplishment in the real world is more important than accomplishment in the virtual world. For people under 30, that does not always hold."
'Many people'? There's nailed those figures. So, what should we do?
"Parent must be in charge. You must know what games your son is playing and how much time he spends on them. With your girls, you need to know what sites your daughter is visiting."
Read more of the Professor's views here.
Talking to Bermuda's Royal Gazette newspaper Dr Sax says, "while most people over 40 have never heard of a video game called Call of Duty Modern Warfare, it's known in every classroom."
Interesting take on the video gamer demographic that one. But there's more from the Prof, "Parents don't realise how incredibly good these games are."
They should probably have a go then. What do parents know? "The technology has become so advanced. We grew up with Pacman and Space Invaders. Those games were silly and not particularly engrossing or addictive."
Eh? Pacman and Space Invaders were dull and not engrossing? How the hell did we get an industry out of them then?
What does all this mean for boys? "These games give a false sense of accomplishment. I have spoken to so many boys. Their parents are frustrated because the sons are staying up past midnight to play the latest game, when they have a French language examination the next day, or a maths test or an essay due."
And there's more. "Many people over 40 assume that accomplishment in the real world is more important than accomplishment in the virtual world. For people under 30, that does not always hold."
'Many people'? There's nailed those figures. So, what should we do?
"Parent must be in charge. You must know what games your son is playing and how much time he spends on them. With your girls, you need to know what sites your daughter is visiting."
Read more of the Professor's views here.
Comments
config 1 Feb 2010 15:47
1/1
I'm not hurting because I played lots of games as a kid, but I am messed up because I went to an all-boys high school . I missed out on an essential part of my social development and now, as a direct result, I'm complete doofus around girls. Or maybe that's douchbag.