This Is What I Mean

There is something fatalistic in saying "video games never teach", and in regards to my earlier post today about Lev Gonick's magic $99 laptop, that was not my intent. I've just happened upon a story about a man who used Mario 64 to improve his daughter's reading skills and comprehension, and this, I think, is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. You can't say "Mario 64 will teach your children to read," because it won't. This guy is using video games, in his words, as a carrot, and he is the stick. He is sitting down with his daughter and watching her go through the game. When she gets so a part where she might just learn something, he makes her slow down and go over the letters, and begins actually trying to think about what the words are telling her.

So unless the $99 laptop comes with an automatic parent to sit down and tutor the child in a way that politely but insistently urges them to do things they're not comfortable with learning yet, and rewards them for doing so, it's a useless waste of taxpayer money. What Lev advocates is buying everyone a copy of Mario 64 so they can learn to read. Bzzt. So sorry. Thanks for playing, here's a copy of the home game. Just read the story. Cleveland needs parents, not laptops.

theferrett: Hacking The Game: "But me? I'm using games to teach my kid lessons. And it feels good."