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disagree, as-do many other
educators such as Johnathan
‘Kozol. (Saturday Review,
July 21, 1979), who see them
_ as. ‘shallow, ‘artificial, and
usually useless ways of
causing people to study how

their values affect their
decisions.
The popularity of

simulation games in our
schools, is another striking
example of how far
.Classroom = studies’ are

removed from life in the real .

world. ; ‘

Our definition
childhood has_ changed.
Childhood has become “a
moratorium on life,”
Kozol.

“The wholesale neglect of
the world outside the
window,” he continues, “is
best dramatized) by that
insidious vehicle of
scholastic alienation, ‘the
simulation game,’ We close
the windows, pull down the
blinds, ventilate the air,
deflect the light, absorb the
sound, etherize the heart,
and neutralize the = soul.
Then we bring in simulation
games to try to imitate the
world we have, with such
great care and at such vast
expense, oxcluded,”

A North Vancouver
parent recently labelled a
now infamous simulation
game proposed for district-
wide use “socially-warped,
improbable, educationally
ridiculous, and psycho-
logically dangerous because
it might lead to such social
engineering as euthanasia.”

of.

SAYS .

“‘cross- section © of.
society.” oT le

“do not- represent a
‘our’

There were four whites,
two blacks, one Hispanic,
one Asian, and one Indian in
the group; they represented
different religions, skills,
schooling, life styles, and
beliefs.

Looking only at North
Vancouver's population, the
parent was correct. But that
only takes us back to the
basics: how do young people
examine their racial biases
when they're deprived of
daily exposure to significant
numbers of different non-
white people?

Teachers in nearly all-
white schools often turn to
simulation games _ like
“Choose Your Crew” that do
nothing to change student
attitudes. To pretend such a
game will help students
“make smooth transitions at
key points in their lives,” as
the guide states, is naive. In
practice, such games
highlight how the illusions of
growing up white and
comfortable make it so
difficult to understand a
world that is mostly non-
white and poor.

The significance of the
“Choose Your Crew” game:is
that it’s the only oxample in
the entire 100-page course
outline of any effort to study
the implications of racism in
career choices. It's even
buried on the last page. The
author's mistake was ap-
parently trying to sneak a
superficial study of racism in
the back door, when it
deserved more direct,
thorough attention,

The other 99 pages of
guide are full of no

o people , “you: "must: “choose”
Burbidge ‘claims ‘simulation ~ from
games. are - “generally ac-

: ‘useful

oe

at

"controversial, |

Most will go to college if
they want to and fit into
good paying jobs. So the
entire course becomes a
simulation game.
‘real,

The long-term

challenge for white, middle-"

class: students will be: can
they extend the op-
portunities they’ve enjoyed
and taken for granted to
‘those who are less fortunate?

am)

I think, “Choose Your
Crew” is a'feeble attempt to
meet that challenge. An
imaginative teacher can find
real problems within the
classroom or from current
events to make ‘decision
making tough and authentic.

For example, if you can
only take four of these nine
students with-you on a three-
day survival hike, whom will
you choose and why? Here,
the students are real people
known to everyone; the task
is reasonable. Or, how many
“boat people” should North
Vancouver sponsor? — a
question we all might
ponder.

T believe the board will cut
“Choose Your Crew” out of
the course guide but approve
the rest of the innocuous
package because it lends

- directly to the kind of “social

engineering” they are
elected to perpetuate —
conditioning the children of
a privileged minority to
continue practising a very
real-kind of “outhanasia” —
the benign neglect of, and
insulation from, the world’s
majority who are non-white
and poor.

, * standard. “
a “activities . ‘that. undoubtedly
Aa ‘gain : the: Board's : ap-. -
proval ‘for ‘use’ in ‘all-North ©
Vancouver high schools: But. .
: E question whether most of:

those Students need: such a -
course. Few of:them have to’
worry about their careers.’

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