When it comes to eSports, the rising popularity helps when new clubs or team talks arise at school. When we talk about sports, the top 1% of physical athletes get to be included in the higher leagues. With eSports, anyone can train and perform at a higher level with practice with no regard for weight, height, how much they can curl, or toughness. Some of the eSports games that might be included are 2K, Madden, and FIFA. Gaming in general has a lot of benefits for young minds; one of those might be increasing gray matter in the brain. Increasing gray matter enables individuals to control movement, memory, and emotions. When it comes to sports or even FPS games, the use of critical thinking is very needed and, when practiced, can be built to perfection. Which can be very important in outside life when it’s required in most jobs and outside factors in life. We can also look at the negatives, which could include the amount of violence in these games being a kind of one up to the kids overkilling others. You can also refer to the amount of time and effort it really takes to establish yourself as one of the greater gamers in your school, which would be established with time outside of class taking away time that can be used for homework. In previous additions to esports gaming in high school, the feedback has been mostly positive, with parents and teachers saying, “Of those, over half (54%) say esports gave children more confidence, with teamwork (62%), problem-solving (57%), and technological skills (55%), coming out as the top skills parents believe children can develop through esports” (FEnews). So if the feedback is mostly positive from teachers and parents and the kids love playing video games, it should be an immediate reaction to put eSports gaming into school if they receive the funds to do so. Christopher Borges,a student at DHS, had this to say: “It might have a spot; it helps teach kids to have good hand-eye coordination, have good communication skills, and exercise the brain. You know, get some strategic thinking. I think it definitely has its place. You know, we have other clubs that are hobby-related, like comic book clubs and stuff. I don’t think there’s any reason we shouldn’t have nothing like that for the school.” With that being said, there is student interest in the idea of an esports team in high schools around the world. The “explosive growth is driven by student interest—about 90 percent of teens play video games—and is matched by growth in esports scholarships and careers” (NEA). With the rising number of students, the question still stands on what the school’s decisions will be when they bring the concept up in meetings. Who knows, maybe there will be an eSports gaming club in your school next year.
