Gaming Educations

by Endarire

Editor's Note: They're general knowledge spoilers, hence the use of 'possible'.

I'm disappointed. I'm pissed. I'd smash this monitor in if I wasn't so wise. Almost everyone who's reading/read this will share my opinion: The public school system (perhaps even private, I haven't been there) in America is inadequate. Because of my current rage, I shall use the vernacular and call it a sickle sucking rabbit raper. (Vernacular to Shakespeare's time.)

Still angry, I realize that my aggressions are for naught unless I make a point and offer solution. Recall old sayings like "When pigs fly!"? Well, they've flown as I make this statement: I have learned more from gaming than all of high school. Reread it if you don't believe me. Modern education teaches to the tests and the masses, neither enough to reach to students generally. Going by game standards and another old saying, "Learning is doing." You gain experience in structural engineering by doing blueprints and getting into the field, you gain precision with aiming a gun by hunting and shooting, you advance in writing by writing, so why aren't we doing? If there is no clear application when knowledge is conveyed, it will almost always be lost.

Now, for some gaming. I still believe I've learned more from gaming than formal schooling. One of my grandmothers remarked that my response time was very quick while I was driving. Where'd I get that? Not math, nearly sleeping, not even gym when I was running laps. No, the simple answer is that I got it from Doom and other action games. What about emotion? I've played the Final Fantasy series (1-9, Legends 1 and 3) and learned such things as hate, love and determination from there. RPGs (the Final Fantasy series mainly) provide idols to stick emotions to: Cyan is noble, honest and courageous, Cecil is obedient and demoted when he questions authority (I'm seeing a school tie right here), Kefka is insanely evil, Sephiroth is mysteriously evil, Golbez is good once he realizes what was going on (like waking up from modern education) and Cid (FFIV) is crafty and resourceful, though it almost gets him killed in the chase.

Games teach you to think, assuming you don't use guides and such to spoil the intellectual value. Where'd I learn philosophy? Not from the English or Social Studies department, but from observing and asking why: Why did Kefka poison Doma? Why does Gate contain amnesiacs? Why is Ramza going 'against a tide'? Puzzle games have also helped in this, but Lufia 2 is like a combination combat simulation and puzzle game. I've beaten "The World's Most Difficult Trick", but only it wasn't in the Lufia game, I found it in a shareware Windows program. I never even found it in the game. Oh well.

So, what about thought? As a race who makes its "ascendancy" above all other species as the argument that we can think and reason, schools aren't enforcing the concept. There's the standard intake and recall; that's often what studying is about. Thinking is more than recalling something taken in previously, it is evaluating possibilities and forming a conclusion or going with a side. I can never recall doing such an arduous task for my required schoolwork. There is also the matter of the "one right" philosophy- grade school helps enforce that there's "one right" answer. Things are concrete, 4+4 is always 8, there are 9 planets in our solar system and George Washington was the first US president. The only 'thought' questions were ones that seemed to have no possible answer- "If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?", "What's the sound of one hand clapping?", "How many angels are dancing on a pinhead?" and "How much wood...?" Though there are definite answers to the first two, the second two are subjective. (By the way, use an audio recorder and find someone with a double-jointed wrist.)

With that, more can be explained. Ever feel like you were dealing with FFIV-like NPCs? That's probably due to attitude; don't think, just do. The idea of delayed reaction is beyond most teens, but Deus Ex enforces it. Who do you ally with, who do you trust? Back to the subject of NPCs- people are becoming more like the "There are many guards at this castle!" or "I like swords!" (bonus points to those who notice the references) because they don't know how to get out of their mental situation. Change means becoming prone and that takes courage, something humanity is almost in negative quantities of. Only after someone dies are they seen as great or/and courageous it seems- Gallileo, Chaucer, King. (There are a few exceptions- Mark Twain/Sam Clemens was a legend in his time as well.)

For those that believe in evolution, devolution is right there beside it. Humanity seems to be stuck in a holding pattern of intelligence or heading down- Cro Magnons had more mental capacity but were wiped out. Maybe because knowledge is still mocked and feared. Why do nerds and such get harassed? Knowledge and 'difference' are feared. We can't relate to what we don't understand and mocking difference just because it's different is still acceptable. My game reference is FFVI when Kefka has Figaro burning. Kefka is soon proven wrong when Edgar orders Figaro to submerge and wins. Figaro 1, Empire 0. Knowledge becomes feared because of rivalry and Figaro is never attacked by the Empire again during the game.

Listening is also a problem. We THINK we're listening, but it's just buzzing. There's rarely any formal training though 'tis over half of communication. Why does evil emerge usually? People don't listen. Ghestal didn't listen to the clues that Kefka wanted him out (the clown getup and the insanity) and he was killed. Humanity also doesn't pay attention and listen in similar ways- much of the Vietnam war could have been avoided if the American government had listened to the Vietnamese when they said they didn't care if they had Communist rulers. Did Japan listen when they were bombed the first time?

Gaming is NOT a waste- it is probably more important than formal education beyond middle school. Where did I learn all this? Certainly not by strictly listening to my teachers but by doing, by thinking, by observing and making use of what I learned. RPGamers, I suggest you game all you can while you're young, your head will be filled with much crap and trivia before you're 20.

Standard stuff: No offense meant to those involved with the wars, but some offense meant to the school system. If you can reply coherently, go ahead.

"What if the arts are not the frills of life, but the core?"

-EE "The Pissed Knower"