School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 1 – Week 31
I am eager to hear what these young scholars and families think about the long-term effects of playing violent video games.
The scholars are now arriving.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes I brought cookies. Sofia and Tara please pass them out.
(They do and, as usual, the cookies are quickly inhaled).
Class: Thanks Mr. Jim.
Me: You are welcome. I am eager to hear what you and your families think about playing violent video games.
Tara: As I said last week, my family does not allow any violent video games or any movies which are real violent. I don’t think it is fair since all my friends play them and they are not violent.
Me: Tara, why has your family decided to not allow these games or violent movies?
Tara: Well, to be fair, we are not allowed to play a lot of video games at all. Even television time is very restricted. Video games, computers and televisions are not allowed in bedrooms. We have a study/media area in the living room and a television in the family room.
Me: Do you know why your parents made these rules Tara?
Tara: They think that we need to learn to talk to each other and to disagree without violence.
Sam: We also are not allowed to play violent games and you know, Uncle Jim, that our family plays a lot of board games. We also do a lot of other activities together.
Sue: I sometimes like to play violent video games but I and my siblings are not allowed to play any video games very much.
Me: It seems as if some families are more concerned about video games in general than about violence.
Steve: Sometimes we watch something on television or a movie which is violent but we talk about it. No one is allowed to hit or say mean words to others.
Tommy: My family says that no one is sure that violent video games are bad and we are allowed to play some, but we can only play for short time.
Susie: We looked up a lot of information and no one seems to know if violent video games cause more violence or aggress - oh what is that word?
Me: Aggression such as bullying, hitting, being mean.
Ahmes: My family says that there is less violence in the world than their used to be.
Me: That is true. Violence of all kinds is less, but we hear more about it than we used to.
Tommy: Is it always wrong to be violent Mr. Jim? What if we are just trying to make bad people be nicer?
Me: That is a great question Tommy. Now you are asking another question: “Does punishing people who are mean or hurt people help them become better people?
Tara: I asked mom about the detective books she reads all the time. She admitted some of those are violent.
Me: What did she say?
Tara: She said she wants to think that reading detective books is different than playing violent video games but she was not sure.
Me: That is another good question. I thought of that also because a I read a lot of detective stories but never play video games and never allowed my son to play them. One author Keith Stuart had written about this and suggests that in novels usually there is violence within a story. A detective or another good person tries to stop the person who is hurting others. In video games often there seems to be no reason for the violence. I am not suggesting that violence is ever okay, but I am suggesting that in detective novels we have to have a reason for the good people to be violent.
Sue: Are you saying that we do not know if violent video games cause people to be more aggres- oh I forgot.
Me: More aggressive. Let me write it on the board.
You are right Susie, it seems as if we do not know. It does seem as if there is some reason to think that spending a lot of time with such things as video games, texting and other such devices may have bad effects on the brain. It also sounds as if all of your families are concerned about finding non-violent ways of solving problems.
Sofia: My mom and dad say that they love that we talk about all issues and that everyone in our family can have an opinion.
Me: I agree Sofia. It sounds to me that all of our families value talking and playing together a lot. Some of you children will grow up and become scientists who will study some of these questions. Perhaps the best we can do now is to admit we need to look at ways to take better care of each other. Certainly not everyone who plays video games or reads detective books learns to be violent. The leaves open the question of whether violence is ever okay.
Goodness, time is nearly up. Sam and Sue please pass out cookies and Sofia will you pass out the assignment for next week. For next week can we talk about the importance of play. How does play help children and adults.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written April 4, 2017
I am eager to hear what these young scholars and families think about the long-term effects of playing violent video games.
The scholars are now arriving.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes I brought cookies. Sofia and Tara please pass them out.
(They do and, as usual, the cookies are quickly inhaled).
Class: Thanks Mr. Jim.
Me: You are welcome. I am eager to hear what you and your families think about playing violent video games.
Tara: As I said last week, my family does not allow any violent video games or any movies which are real violent. I don’t think it is fair since all my friends play them and they are not violent.
Me: Tara, why has your family decided to not allow these games or violent movies?
Tara: Well, to be fair, we are not allowed to play a lot of video games at all. Even television time is very restricted. Video games, computers and televisions are not allowed in bedrooms. We have a study/media area in the living room and a television in the family room.
Me: Do you know why your parents made these rules Tara?
Tara: They think that we need to learn to talk to each other and to disagree without violence.
Sam: We also are not allowed to play violent games and you know, Uncle Jim, that our family plays a lot of board games. We also do a lot of other activities together.
Sue: I sometimes like to play violent video games but I and my siblings are not allowed to play any video games very much.
Me: It seems as if some families are more concerned about video games in general than about violence.
Steve: Sometimes we watch something on television or a movie which is violent but we talk about it. No one is allowed to hit or say mean words to others.
Tommy: My family says that no one is sure that violent video games are bad and we are allowed to play some, but we can only play for short time.
Susie: We looked up a lot of information and no one seems to know if violent video games cause more violence or aggress - oh what is that word?
Me: Aggression such as bullying, hitting, being mean.
Ahmes: My family says that there is less violence in the world than their used to be.
Me: That is true. Violence of all kinds is less, but we hear more about it than we used to.
Tommy: Is it always wrong to be violent Mr. Jim? What if we are just trying to make bad people be nicer?
Me: That is a great question Tommy. Now you are asking another question: “Does punishing people who are mean or hurt people help them become better people?
Tara: I asked mom about the detective books she reads all the time. She admitted some of those are violent.
Me: What did she say?
Tara: She said she wants to think that reading detective books is different than playing violent video games but she was not sure.
Me: That is another good question. I thought of that also because a I read a lot of detective stories but never play video games and never allowed my son to play them. One author Keith Stuart had written about this and suggests that in novels usually there is violence within a story. A detective or another good person tries to stop the person who is hurting others. In video games often there seems to be no reason for the violence. I am not suggesting that violence is ever okay, but I am suggesting that in detective novels we have to have a reason for the good people to be violent.
Sue: Are you saying that we do not know if violent video games cause people to be more aggres- oh I forgot.
Me: More aggressive. Let me write it on the board.
You are right Susie, it seems as if we do not know. It does seem as if there is some reason to think that spending a lot of time with such things as video games, texting and other such devices may have bad effects on the brain. It also sounds as if all of your families are concerned about finding non-violent ways of solving problems.
Sofia: My mom and dad say that they love that we talk about all issues and that everyone in our family can have an opinion.
Me: I agree Sofia. It sounds to me that all of our families value talking and playing together a lot. Some of you children will grow up and become scientists who will study some of these questions. Perhaps the best we can do now is to admit we need to look at ways to take better care of each other. Certainly not everyone who plays video games or reads detective books learns to be violent. The leaves open the question of whether violence is ever okay.
Goodness, time is nearly up. Sam and Sue please pass out cookies and Sofia will you pass out the assignment for next week. For next week can we talk about the importance of play. How does play help children and adults.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written April 4, 2017
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