Violence and Video Games

Video games do not cause children to become violent. Video games create an alternate reality that appeals to some more than the reality of the real world, thus leading them to act out their video game fantasies in real life. In this case, the perpetrator is Minecraft. Minecraft is a game touted for its ability to breed creativity, cooperation, and social skills. This child sought to live out his in game reality of defending himself from zombies in the real world. This is not the fault of a video game. Video games are designed to be enjoyable. If they were not enjoyable, people would never play them. The root of the problem of children acting out video game fantasies lies in the parenting. This stands true for most situations where children act out. When parents are involved in the lives of their children, those children tend to be more responsible for their actions. Parents can also become aware of worries and fears in their children before they are acted upon by talking to them. Video games are not the real reason for the increase in violence in youth. The real reason is a lack of parent involvement.

http://www.ryot.org/a-9-year-old-brought-a-whole-bag-of-weapons-to-school-to-play-real-life-minecraft/391205

Seizing Opportunity

As Steve Ballmer retires, his biggest regret was not taking a risk while CEO of Microsoft . As Ballmer said earlier in his announcement, “we are almost uniquely poised to seize the opportunity.” The problem is that Microsoft chose not to. In the ever-changing world of technology, innovation is the key to success. When it came to deciding between embracing new technology or sticking with the system that got Microsoft to where they are today, they chose the latter. It is no wonder that discontented shareholders are pressuring Ballmer to step down. Under his leadership the company has plateaued. Without taking risks and branching out, Microsoft cannot grow. The company investors came to love was founded on seizing opportunities to innovate. While it was not always the best product, they always has a product in there contending for the market. By choosing not to seize the opportunity when phones developed, Microsoft showed investors they are no longer cutting edge. By not taking an opportunity they were “uniquely poised to seize,” Microsoft showed investors they were not willing to take a risk and innovate.

Teaching to Test

In America, the accomplishments of 12 years of schooling are summed up in 2 statistics; a GPA and an ACT or SAT score. Colleges then rate students upon these two statistics and judge who is prepared for college and who is not. Many will say colleges take into account extracurricular activities and organizations, but in reality, if a student does not meet the minimum criteria, they are not even considered. This provides no incentive for students to study topics of their interests if those topics will not increase test scores. Likewise, there is no incentive to teach extracurricular topics. High School students need to be taught much more than how to simply score well on a test. High School needs to be a time of exploration. Students should be encouraged and incentivized to try new things, think creatively, and develop their talents. Until students are judged on more than just two numbers, High Schools will continue to churn out students who have only learned how to pass tests.