"I have always admired and envied the way that video games
capture the attention of children.
I don't play them myself, but I think that one of the keys to their
success is recognizing and rewarding accomplishment. As I remember, video games were once set up where you had to
master "The First Board" before passing on to "The Second
Board".
I have always thought that if we could set up a system of
"Boards" that children could play online, and that would require
knowledge and skills that align to national and state standards, then children
could have a clear record of and specific rewards for their accomplishments.
However, learning must also take place in the real world in
connection with parents and other positive role models. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have set
up an intricate system of Badges that
do the same thing that video games do.
They set up a series of accomplishments, and then give a reward when the
child has met all of the requirements.
What video games and scout badges also have in common is
that the activities required for completion of a goal are interesting to the
child.
Last of all, both video games and badges are status
symbols. Children leave their
initials on game boards after achieving a certain rank. Scout badges have world-wide
recognition.
Under No Child Left Behind, many schools have become test prep
centers. For the adults in the
system, the test is everything.
Good test scores give status and financial rewards. Bad test scores
carry shame and punishment. But
for the child who is taking the test, there are no real rewards. The test itself is boring. Preparing for the test is boring. Passing the test brings no palpable
reward or status. Tests are not
tied to the real world, or to home and community in a meaningful way. Ideas of giving video games or cells
phones as rewards for good test scores simply underline the fact that passing the test is not itself a
reward.
I propose setting up a nationwide system of Badges
constructed along the lines of Scout Badges but also aligned with curriculum
standards. The completion of a
Badge could be rewarded by a Presidential Certificate and by an actual cloth
badge that can be sewn onto clothes.
Public and private schools can be the centers where the
badge requirements are achieved under supervision.
What ideas do you have for change?