This is actually not so bad. It's not like they are saying, "Let's ban Grand Theft Auto!" They're just saying, this is real-this isn't.
Schools Using Grand Theft Auto to Teach Kids
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
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Kids aren't stupid. They can tell the difference between a car made up of pixels and a real one.Booze Zombie said:
What they get taught from these games is that society puts violence, theft and hookers up on a pedastal and begins to believe these are socially acceptable.
After all, they just bought a game glorifying it so it HAS to be good, right? Right?
Point is, the kid should know that's not how things work if they've got a functioning mind.Greyhald said:
The main character fights gangsters, heals bullet wounds with hotdogs, escapes police by dying/respraying his car in a public chop-shop, the first place the police would probably check...
Anyone who's walked down a street or even simply scrapped their knee could tell this is just not how things work.
And we're supposed to believe that people are thick enough to believe this shit?
Um, if a kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality by then they have a serious problem. Maybe if it was kids 3-5 I could believe it but anything much older than that I have a hard time swallowing.Tom Goldman said:
I don't understand why people don't think kids have a grasp on what's real and what's not. Maybe I was really smart as a child, but when people died on TV, it never bothered me. When people I knew died, I already kind of understood it.
I have always thought of the recognition of real death as instinctual.
But then again, people think if we have "abstinence only" programs then hormonal teenagers won't fuck. I'll give you a hint: when animals hit puberty, they start to instinctively fuck.
But that's an aside.
Basically, if kids can't determine reality versus fantasy, we're in a lot of trouble as a species.
I have always thought of the recognition of real death as instinctual.
But then again, people think if we have "abstinence only" programs then hormonal teenagers won't fuck. I'll give you a hint: when animals hit puberty, they start to instinctively fuck.
But that's an aside.
Basically, if kids can't determine reality versus fantasy, we're in a lot of trouble as a species.
I don't know I just think they're thinking kids are stupid little retards, kids know the difference between real and not (least I did when I was that age)
While in some ways I do like the fact that the government is keen to come up with many new and innovative initiatives that will reach children like this one, I despair at the fact that they are deemed necessary.
Why is the government insisting that children are taught everything in schools these days? Are parents not able to bring their children up properly? Sadly I get the feeling that the answer to the second question will soon be yes in most cases.
The country is in a tonne of debt and we'd save a lot of money by rendering half the population infertile.
The words of an evil dictator? Probably. An evil dictator who runs a financially stable country? Almost certainly.
On a less depressing note, it may amuse some of you Escapists to know that the UK's Secretary of State for schools is called Ed Balls. I know I chuckle every time I'm reminded of that fact
Why is the government insisting that children are taught everything in schools these days? Are parents not able to bring their children up properly? Sadly I get the feeling that the answer to the second question will soon be yes in most cases.
The country is in a tonne of debt and we'd save a lot of money by rendering half the population infertile.
The words of an evil dictator? Probably. An evil dictator who runs a financially stable country? Almost certainly.
On a less depressing note, it may amuse some of you Escapists to know that the UK's Secretary of State for schools is called Ed Balls. I know I chuckle every time I'm reminded of that fact
Let's be fair, it's only in the past decade or so that games have become realistic enough (in both graphics and gameplay complexity) to actually fool some people. You never had to worry about kids playing Combat on the old Atari 2600 and then running down to the local airfield to steal biplanes.Onyx Oblivion said:
This idea does seem a bit gimmicky to me, but I applaud the intent behind it. Teaching kids from an early age what is real and what isn't is more important now than ever before. I only question why the parents aren't getting the job done as much as they should.
Being 15, I can remember. I could tell the difference. Killing things was still fun though..Onyx Oblivion said:
If they wanted to should videogame violence has no similarities to real life they should just have tried to make the children empathise with people. They could have used a videogame based in a school instead. Rockstar made one, did't they? Bully/Canis Canum Edit. Though I guess then they'd have t-
Oh.
Yeah. Its much more awkward addressing real life issues relevant to school children, like violence in school and sexuality than preventing anther damaged generation of gamers. Thats not fun or worth writing in the news, government member involved won't care about that. It needs to address real political issues, important game related stuff thats been reported in the news before. The problems of gaming. I mean, Pacman caused a huge drug problem and Doom and Wolfenstein caused thousands upon thousands of shootings, ri-
Oh.
Wait. Those games didn't brainwash kids, did they? Well, at least these parents are active in their kids upbringing. Spending time with them. Enjoying their childhood together. Teaching them about family, about life, stuff they wished theire parents did. Not just dumping them in front of a console for hour on end, leaving the teachers to shape them morall-
Oooooooooh.
Right. This is just something neither parents or teachers really care about beyond the latest moral panic I guess. Shouldn't there be some new moral panic now? GTA IV is really the bad penny of moral panics I guess...
Never mind. At least the designers of those gta games will have more stuff written about them. Cultural impact. Realism. It'll help them build a good reputation and get jobs. And its good that the games that get the most hype and publicity are good looking and realistic instead of just ugly but fun and telling a story, isn't i-
...Oh.
Maybe I should just stop bringing everyone down. This was meant to be a wonderful news story and I've just turned it into a complete buzzkill.
Yeah. I'll stop. Keep my mouth shut. If I do nothing and try and change absolutely nothing, the government will get smarter, and accept computer games as a form of media just like it does books or movies and the games devs will try new things and they'll work and everything will just get better for no reason whatsoever, won't-
Awwwww.
I keep doing that, don't I? Guess I'll just sit here in my basement. I,n the dark. On the internet. Like a normal person. If everyone does this, we'll all be safe. Now wouldn't that be nic-
...
Oh.
Yeah. Its much more awkward addressing real life issues relevant to school children, like violence in school and sexuality than preventing anther damaged generation of gamers. Thats not fun or worth writing in the news, government member involved won't care about that. It needs to address real political issues, important game related stuff thats been reported in the news before. The problems of gaming. I mean, Pacman caused a huge drug problem and Doom and Wolfenstein caused thousands upon thousands of shootings, ri-
Oh.
Wait. Those games didn't brainwash kids, did they? Well, at least these parents are active in their kids upbringing. Spending time with them. Enjoying their childhood together. Teaching them about family, about life, stuff they wished theire parents did. Not just dumping them in front of a console for hour on end, leaving the teachers to shape them morall-
Oooooooooh.
Right. This is just something neither parents or teachers really care about beyond the latest moral panic I guess. Shouldn't there be some new moral panic now? GTA IV is really the bad penny of moral panics I guess...
Never mind. At least the designers of those gta games will have more stuff written about them. Cultural impact. Realism. It'll help them build a good reputation and get jobs. And its good that the games that get the most hype and publicity are good looking and realistic instead of just ugly but fun and telling a story, isn't i-
...Oh.
Maybe I should just stop bringing everyone down. This was meant to be a wonderful news story and I've just turned it into a complete buzzkill.
Yeah. I'll stop. Keep my mouth shut. If I do nothing and try and change absolutely nothing, the government will get smarter, and accept computer games as a form of media just like it does books or movies and the games devs will try new things and they'll work and everything will just get better for no reason whatsoever, won't-
Awwwww.
I keep doing that, don't I? Guess I'll just sit here in my basement. I,n the dark. On the internet. Like a normal person. If everyone does this, we'll all be safe. Now wouldn't that be nic-
...
If they are actually teaching this in schools right now, I will shit my pants with joy.Tom Goldman said: