Minecraft As A Mandatory Subject In School? Sweet!
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Sweden has to be one of the coolest places for a kid to grow up in - First, they introduced the concept of schools with no grades or classrooms, then came Monstrum's amazing playgrounds and now, the coolest idea of all - 'Forcing' 13-year-olds to play Minecraft as part of the classroom curriculum.
The seed for this rather radical idea was planted when the government of Sweden organized a national school competition called 'Future City' for which classrooms were asked to submit their ideas about the kind of structures they envisioned in the Sweden of the future.
It was such a success that educators at Stockholm’s Viktor Rydberg school decided to continue this 'out of the box' thinking by incorporating Minecraft into the class curriculum for 13-year-students.
According to the teachers, the game which challenges kids to use their imagination by building virtual worlds complete with electricity grids, water supply pumps and anything else they would like to see in their future, allows students to think beyond the classroom frontiers. This they believe will help them make better decisions as adults, especially about things like the environmental impact of their actions. And while it may sound radical to most people they liken it to teaching a woodcraft class - except in this case, all the construction is being conducted in a virtual world.
So far, 180, 13-year girls and boys, have participated in this mandatory unit, which not surprisingly has been such a huge hit that the school is planning to make it a permanent addition to their curriculum. It of course augments, not replaces, core subjects like math and science. The educators say that even parents who were a little apprehensive about their kids playing video games at school, are now on board and fully support this decision.
We wonder if any school in the US would even consider such a drastic curriculum addition - And how parents would react. What do you think? Be sure to let us know, by adding your comments below.
Resources: The local.se, gizmag.com
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13800 Comments
shinigamiover 11 yearsif ur found playing minecraft at my school, u get in big trouble
analiseover 11 yearsWe can play minecraft in between classes in my school as long as you are not late. And you can play on the school computers cuz it is installed there too
sherlockcutepupover 11 yearsI love Minecraft.I even have the books.
palmbeach123over 11 yearsAt our school we play minecraft as a education game- Halleover 11 yearsNo fair they get to play mine craft in school and my school do not.
swimmer_girl02over 11 yearsIt can definitely raise your heart temperature when a whole mob bunch is after you!- sherlockcutepupover 11 yearsYeah.scary.that is why I only play in creative mode so no mobs will come after me.😉
- TheBossLife27over 11 yearsI love Minecraft
- analiseover 11 yearsI also play a game called pixelgun and block force which is like a mineicraft setting but you have to kill or mutate people. So all you call of duty and minecraft fans will love it!
happypug12over 11 yearsThat sounds a little violent, analise. Is it gory?
ag101over 11 yearsWow! That is cool, minecraft is so fun! There is so much to do and there are some people I know who are cccrazy for minecraft. They talk about it all the time and it's so easy. I do it on my ipad and my friend is like oh, I don't do minecraft and im like what? you're kidding- so I showed her it on my ipad and she keeps asking, "what does that do?" and im like "girl, you need to get the minecraft survival guide books, because so far it seems like you aren't gonna survive a minute in mincraft and I don't have time to be your guide. but she's like my mom still plays minecraft and im like go ask her, she probably knows a lot. and then shes like but shes always busy and im like then get the books, they are available at barnes and noble. and she's like I like this game, it's fun but makes so ssense whatsoever. and im like look at this cool article on dogonews and shes like wow, let's move to Sweden.- sherlockcutepupover 11 yearsI have the books .😀those books are awesome.😉
nikukyuover 11 yearsYep mine craft is the BEST THING EVER and I love it:D. My friend likes it too, but she doesn't have a computer or a tablet or an iPhone so she can't play. She uses my iPad instead, and I'm always this close👌 to screaming cuz shes a newbie and puts the blocks s-l-o-w-l-y...*jab...jab...wait, how do you put the stairs in the right direction?* AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! But I try to be patient because, after all I was like that when I started. I bet I irritated my brother beyond belief. Like or reply if you guys had the same experience!
cheetahluverover 11 yearshaha lol ikr the same thing with my friend!!!
- lelaover 11 yearsi biuld a school
