A Year in Pictures of Working

Job #13: Charter School Teacher (Cont.)

One of the nice things about the high school where I taught was the fact that all of the computers in the school were built by students (and then other students spent the rest of the year slowly tearing them apart).

The computer class, taught by the son of the married couple that ran the school, was very popular, partially because students were naturally interested in computers. More than that, though, it was popular because 99% of the class time was given over to playing 'Call of Duty.' If you peeked in the window you'd see every screen lit up with gunfire as the students stalked each other through war torn Europe.

This really upset the history teacher.

History Teacher: They're in there shooting each other all day. It's just wall to wall violence.
Computer Teacher: Well, at least it has a historical element to it.
History Teacher: They're Nazis! They're playing as Nazi soldiers!

I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally pad my own classes with movies (I screened all 18 episodes of 'Freaks and Geeks,' for instance), but I generally agreed with the History Teacher that what was going on in the computer lab was unsettling.

Then again, I've since learned to enjoy the pleasures of 'Call of Duty 2.' In fact, during Jellyvision's regular Friday afternoon game last week, I helped lead the Axis forces in a victory over the Allies.

# posted by Arnie : 8:25 PM