Gaming Concepts.
Though it has not been available on the school’s curriculum for as long as the others, the fledgling elective has earned its place as one of the more popular electives a student can take at RPHS.
The reasoning is simple: being able to play your favorite video games right here, on campus.
Of course, there is more substance to the course that students are required to interact with, but that tends to be why kids decide to sign up for it.
Regardless, Gaming Concepts has been a hit with the student body here at Reeths-Puffer, and the minds who introduced it probably knew it would be when they decided to jump into it.
“We started gaming concepts for the start of the 2018-2019 school year. This course was presented to me through the high school esports website,” said Mr. Ross, the Gaming Concepts teacher for the 24-25 school year. “At that time, Mr. Beckeman [The former principal] and I were looking for a semester course that involved technology that would also get students interested in learning about technology.”
“Currently, the State of Michigan no longer requires teachers to have a computer science endorsement, but Mrs. Ross and I are the only ones at the high school currently that have the CS endorsement,” said Mr. Ross. His wife also taught Gaming Concepts in previous school years.
“The goal is to get students interested in esports, which is an up-and-coming area of learning and participating, as well as learning various facets of esports (tech, communication, mindfulness, nutrition, and more…).”
More parties were involved with it than one would probably think.
“The Gaming Concepts course is something created by Dr. Kristy Custer and a lot of big tech companies (Microsoft, Cisco, etc…) and Oakley and other manufacturers.” Mr. Ross later explained. “With that, we had quite a few meetings (locally, and with Dr. Custer and her team) to get this program started at R-P. There are a few local high schools that are also running this same program/curriculum.”
While it remains unclear how the program looks at those other high schools, here at RP, we all know Gaming Concepts has taken leaps and bounds in the short time that it has been around, which can primarily be seen with Mr. Ross’ plethora of state-of-the-art desktop computers in his room, which allows students to further up their game.
“The school was able to purchase new hardware through a grant to support students and student programming.” Mr. Ross explained when asked how the school acquired them.
Some of the HP Omen - 25L Gaming Desktops at the school’s disposal.
And luckily for all the students infatuated with Gaming Concepts, Mr. Ross and the school as a whole are currently taking the steps needed to further expand the overall reach of the program.
“I have been working with the MAISD to be involved in, and get started, an esports competitive league. That would be the next step… to have R-P students competing against other schools in our county/state,” Mr. Ross explained.
Mr. Ross would later go into further depth when asked what the school is doing to expand the class.
“I think…. the school is really interested in an esports program. The main struggle would be all of the moving parts involved in making something like this happen. A lot of schools run esports like an actual athletic competition, so that means that the athletic director would have to be involved in setting up competitions, etc….” Mr. Ross explained. “So, there would be a large amount of commitment to make it happen at the administrative level. Not that it is impossible, just a lot of new things to learn and get established.”
Mr. Ross as well as the school are invested in cultivating the elective’s growth. However, it should be stated that for both parties, some potential advancements are currently off the table, and unfortunately, it is shaping up to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
“I do not foresee the admins loosening up on restrictions. The restrictions in place are there to keep the entire school network protected; and to keep students from installing something that should not be installed at school.” said Mr. Ross when asked about the potential of using other ways to access the games on the PCs in the near future. For those unaware, Gaming Concepts uses cloud gaming software in order to actually play. This approach can and has led to irritation among the student body, which Mr. Ross acknowledges.
“I get their reasoning, and I understand student frustration with this. However, safety, security, and protection of students is always a priority.”
Despite this, these limitations haven’t stopped students from reveling in the joys that Gaming Concepts brings them.
“I enjoy being at Gaming Concepts because of the people and what we get to do. The people I hang out with, [my friends and all that have tons of fun during the hour,] and the work we put in also gives me time to learn about new things.” says Wesley Blaser, a junior who takes Gaming Concepts for his 6th Hour.
“I like Gaming Concepts class because it’s fun and you meet people with the same enjoyment/job field. It also gives me good info about gaming, [as well as the harm/benefits of gaming] and how to still be healthy while gaming.” says Kaitlyn Murray, a sophomore who has Gaming Concept for her 2nd Hour.
Near the end of the interview, Mr. Ross was prompted to share his experience with teaching class and video games as a whole.
“I have been working on computers since the ‘90’s’. I had an NES, Atari, etc growing up. We actually had a PONG system when I was younger. So, I have been playing pretty simple games compared to what we have now.” Mr. Ross said, explaining his past experience with video games.
“Gaming Concepts definitely opened my eyes to all of the different possibilities for students in the world of esports. There is definitely a lot more than just gaming… there is programming, computer networking, communication skills and more that is all-encompassing of the esports world.”
“Students could make money at gaming, but there are a lot more opportunities that involve esports as a career.” Mr. Ross added.
“For actually teaching the course, I have found that with our modifications to teach students where they are at, it works really well for students. My own son is in the course now, and he is definitely getting a lot out of being a part of it.”
Mr. Ross with his son, Cooper.
“The course is not just gaming… there is a lot of work and content that gets covered; and a lot of learning that happens: both technology-wise, and inner-growth wise,” Mr. Ross commented, “students are able to think about mindfulness, we talk about making good decisions, how to disagree and not lose control, how to overcome obstacles that are upsetting, and more.”
“To watch students grow from the beginning to the end of the semester is pretty cool,” Mr. Ross said. He hopes after he retires from Reeths-Puffer, “there will be a teacher that will continue to provide the same or similar content for students. Obviously, I will not have a whole lot of control over that part of things, but my hope is that it will keep going….”
“Possibly someone who grew up as a new generation gamer with more experience points can take this course to the next level.”
Mr. Ross at the end of 6th Hour Gaming Concepts.
Written by Deondrick Watts
All photos were taken by Deondrick Watts.