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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13801 Comments
happypug12over 11 yearsWhat is the most amazing thing u have ever built in Minecraft?
tntsteve134over 11 yearsI'm more of a miner than a creator so the most amazing thing I've ever built is...(drum rolls, pls) A HOUSE MADE OF DIRT!!!!(I know, I know. But was YOUR dirt house 56x34 and 67 blocks high with 15 large chests,and 13 furnaces? I don't think so. (of course, I've always been more of a fighter than a miner)
swimmer_girl02over 11 yearsMy worst creation was a 3 by 6 dirt and sand house with a tiny little corner to hide from skeletons. It was hidden in the trees, I was playing the hunger games.
analiseover 11 yearsA big city with skyscrapers with individual rooms inside each of them. IT WAS SO COOL! Then my brothers friends came and poured lava all over my beautiful creation... sigh. I LOVE MINECRAFT!- happypug12over 11 yearsThat's too bad that your brother's friends did that. Your skyscraper sounds amazing, analise!
- swimmer_girl02over 11 yearsThat happens to be alphawolf06
kell-bellover 11 yearsI made this thing on something like minecraft from Divergent! it was a big glass building and a hole and a train... then it got deleted.- happypug12over 11 yearsThat is so sad, kell-bell. I hate it when I build something awesome in Minecraft, but then it deletes.
bobo900over 11 yearsI really want this to happen at my school.- Yugal Gautamover 11 yearsThis would be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
- tntsteve134over 11 yearsYEAH!!!
- jaguar101over 11 yearswhats the point
coolgirl12321over 11 yearsI love minecraft its like my top game XD
animaljam22over 11 yearsI play minecraft every day and I made a mashin
nikukyuover 11 yearsI made a amusement park, a Ufo, a huge house inside a mountain, and e.t.c... I think I'm much better at creative than on survivable! Anyone agree? I y'all do, follow or like!- analiseover 11 yearsOh, yes, and follow me back!!! ;)
- nikukyuover 11 yearsI did!
- analiseover 11 yearsNikukyu, I already follow you! I just need happypug12 to do the same ;) wink wink
- nikukyuover 11 yearsThanks a lot! I hoping to reach 50 followers soon!
- happypug12over 11 yearsI really enjoy following u, nikukyu! U r a great friend!
- tntsteve134over 11 yearsWhy is people following each other so important? I have 0 followers because I have been on this site 4 less than 24 hrs.I like Minecraft
frankiebabyover 11 yearsIt isn't but it is a friendly way to get fake friends and happiness- frankiebabyover 11 yearsIt's not that important, but it's fun anyway
- swimmer_girl02over 11 yearsI think that since we are all kids, we are allowed to talk with each other. Sites like facebook and instagram arent so safe because weird grownups use it too! Ill bet if I met all you guys, like happypug12, nikukyu, and you, frankiebaby, I'm sure I'd enjoy all your company!
- nikukyuover 11 yearsYeah I think so too! But I'm in Japan, so it might be hard...
- happypug12over 11 yearsWill u follow me back if I follow u, analise?
- analiseover 11 yearsJust did! thnx so much
- happypug12over 11 yearsYeah, I am way better at creative than on Survival. Once, I spawned the Wither!
- happypug12over 11 yearsOnce I had spawned the Wither in Creative, it just looked at me, then it flew away.
- analiseover 11 yearsYeah the wither is so weird!
- tntsteve134over 11 yearsTrue! It kills all the animal on creative and it...REGENERATES!!!! I think that was a lag, though.
- nikukyuover 11 yearsOMG that's awesome! I usually play with my iPad, so there's not much of a variation. The rarest thing I saw in creative was a pink sheep!
- happypug12over 11 yearsWhoa, a pink sheep! Can you dye the sheep different colors, or are they always white, gray, and black?
- nikukyuover 11 yearsI think in survivable ya can! When I saw it, I was like OMG qwick build a fence around it!!!! And it was great because I made a house right next to the fence where I held captive of the sheep, so I made the pink sheep the houses pet!
- analiseover 11 yearsOh, yes you can dye in PE. Just choose a dye, press the sheep, and violia
- happypug12over 11 yearsWow! Does that work on the computer?
- swimmer_girl02over 11 yearsnot too sure, i only have PE
- analiseover 11 yearsMe too! Its in one of my backyards in a village... I cant remember which
- happypug12over 11 yearsCool, nikukyu! Did the pink sheep ever escape?
- analiseover 11 yearsHappypug12, does your school have a minecraft club?
- coolover 11 yearsthis is so cool i could just kill you in minecraft
- Jjvejjhejjwjfhuover 11 yearsI so want thos to happen.
- coolover 11 yearswow minecraft is so cool that i have every game
- xmen1395over 11 yearsWHO LIKE MINECRAFT? YES WHO LOVE MINECRAFT? AND oh god i forgot XD
