In a recent interview with ABC News, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she supports interactive entertainment as a tool for teaching. During a discussion on education reform, she admitted that games had been used to help students learn new topics. O'Connor cites a “new way” to learn through gaming on a “website that the young people will find so entertaining that they'll play it and learn.”
O'Connor said that while No Child Left Behind improved test scores in math, science, and reading, other subjects were left woefully on the wayside. She says, “a number of schools stopped teaching -- or giving scores on -- civics and government and history.” O'Connor points to gaming as a way to stimulate young minds, noting that middle school children already spend an average of 40 hours a week in front of some screen, be it television, computer, or mobile.
“It's more than they spend in school, it's more than they spend with parents. It's a huge amount of time. Now, if we can capture just part of that time, a little bit of it, to get 'em in front of a computer screen to play these games, they're going to learn,” she noted. “And they don't even know they're learning. I mean, they're fun. The games are great.”
Retired Justice O'Connor notes that results have been shown and replicated. “They're fabulous. And we've had tests done. And the students go up 20 percent in their knowledge by playing those games. It's just incredible.”
She adds that unfortunately, with the way schools are organized by region, it's difficult to push the proposed system out to all schools. O'Connor continues to meet with schools in order to sell them on the free program.
