Wait What! A Slavery Video Game Got Parents In Uproar In Phoenix School
The parents of students in a Phoenix grade school recently found themselves up in arms after learning that their kids were playing a game that simulates slavery, as part of their classroom instruction.
The National Endowment for the Humanities and Corporation for Public Broadcasting funded ‘Mission US’ project received rave reviews upon its 2010 release. It has been heralded for bringing fun to the subject of history with informative interactive learning being driven by gaming. The Mission US website touts the online game as one that “immerses players in rich, historical settings” and “empowers them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past.”
In 2012 Mission US released it’s Flight to Freedom edition, which was created for 6-8 graders, and comes with a guide and instructional materials that allow the teacher to use the game as a comprehensive teaching tool. The game allows players to control characters who at various points of conflict, are given the scenario at hand, and presented with a list of actions they could take, that will either help them attain success or result in a failure to advance to other levels. In the Flight to Freedom game, the setting on one level puts the player in the time of slavery, and the character given to them, for example, puts them in a predicament where they may choose to either oblige, resist or try to sabotage their so-called master. The wrong move may result in the screen being pretty graphic about the character having been beaten or sold.
A number of parents have criticized the game for not being age appropriate. Others have expressed feeling like the game just goes too far. Arizona State University professor of African American literature, Neal Lester, agrees that regardless of the intentions of the educator, some subjects just don’t need to be toyed with. “I just think it’s a horrible idea to move slavery into the realm of gaming,” he says. “Why does it have to be fun? Slavery wasn’t fun.”
A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Elementary Schools has insisted that the game was blocked and that the district is unaware of how teachers or students gained access to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=Hq_HkLm6eDg
District spokeswoman Sara Bresnahan said that so far, out of the 13 schools in the district, she knows of only one seventh-grade class that has used it. Since finding out about the game, the school has blocked streaming access to it.
There’s nothing like having a choice in your own adventure slavery game. Please press 1 if you want to stay a slave, or press 2 if you want to escape!
Read more at AZ Central.
Sources: theroot.com, VladtV.com
