Q&A with "Pathways to Gaming"

In preparing for my participation in the Macarthur-Foundation-sponsored "Pathways to Gaming," I was given a couple of questions to cogitate over. The following are the questions and my responses:


How might we think about gaming as one experience within a larger system of experiences, which constitute contexts for learning, whether they are institutional, familial, or personal?

Before we can put the gaming experience into context, we need to consider the entire spectrum of activities that fall within the rubric of play (or perhaps "rubric cube of play"). Games of all sorts, sports of similar sorts, contests, solitary play, social play, pretend play, play fighting, dramatic play, dress-up, dance, music, dangerous play, nasty play, jokes, riddles, silliness of all sorts, seriousness of related sorts, toy play, puzzle play - and then maybe we can put gaming in its play context, at least. Then, of course, there's the kind of gaming that focuses more on achievement than on play, games that we use to help us learn things, or to distract ourselves, or focus ourselves (I wonder if meditation can be considered a kind of gaming?).

What are the ways in which we might capitalize on the different paths players take into gaming to develop new ways of thinking about learning and literacy across communities?

Then maybe we need to consider the kinds of learning that are native to games and play. Ever since I first taught elementary school I've been amazed and confused by kids who can play chess well, and are failing math. Maybe we need to take a closer look at an educational system that seems not to be able to capitalize on the many competencies people develop when they are in pursuit of nothing other than play. In fact, maybe we nee.d to contemplate the nature of an educational system that is guided by the things kids do in the name of play

Well, I must admit that I've been contemplating that very thing for very many years now, since 1969 probably when I began to understand how much kids were learning about themselves and society playing games like "Duck Duck Goose" and "Capture the Flag." And how utterly confused I've become by an educational system that has all but eliminated recess and a culture that has almost outlawed free play.