UK pupils taught using grand theft auto

[Cpt Corallis]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8611536.stm

For those who don't want to read the link, basically images from GTA, interspersed with real and cartoon pictures of violence, are being used to teach UK primary school pupils the differences between reality and fiction.
Is this the way to go in the Future?

Cpt Corallis

 

[Asturiel]

Video games are a force of good. They are likely doing this just to be edgy but whatever I can dig it!


...

3 days later

"CNN reports there has been increased violence in a UK primary school more at 11"

 

[GodsAndFishes]

That clapping sound that I'm sure all of you just heard was me facepalming.
But seriously are kids these days so thick that they can't tell the difference between something you see in real life and something seen in a magical box with worse than life graphics. If this is the youth of today (partially calling the kettle black here) then I hope to gods that theres a nuclear war tomorrow to knock a bit of sense into the human race.

 

[MrPop]

That clapping sound that I'm sure all of you just heard was me facepalming.
But seriously are kids these days so thick that they can't tell the difference between something you see in real life and something seen in a magical box with worse than life graphics. If this is the youth of today (partially calling the kettle black here) then I hope to gods that theres a nuclear war tomorrow to knock a bit of sense into the human race.

Pft. That's been going on for ages now and I've survived the nuclear fallout. I've just been wandering around the capital wasteland for a while now. I suppose I was brought up in a vault so maybe kids do need to realise the reality outside of the vault and in the wasteland.

 

[captvimes]

That clapping sound that I'm sure all of you just heard was me facepalming.
But seriously are kids these days so thick that they can't tell the difference between something you see in real life and something seen in a magical box with worse than life graphics. If this is the youth of today (partially calling the kettle black here) then I hope to gods that theres a nuclear war tomorrow to knock a bit of sense into the human race.

No its these people that believe that reading a book, watching a film, listening to heavy metal backwards or playing a game can turn you into a mad frenzied psychopath. They are convinced of it. If anything its indicative of the paranoid nanny state adults of today.

 

[Jamash]

Under the scheme, 10 and 11-year-olds are shown stills from the games, which allow players to beat up prostitutes.

Why are these people obsessed with beating up prostitutes?

Grand Theft Auto is about more than just beating up prostitutes, and you can do far worse things than beating up semi-criminals like:

&#0149 Beat up everyday businessmen who are buying a hotdog.
&#0149 Immolate a homeless beggar with a Molotov.
&#0149 Drive a car rigged with a bomb into a busy A&E department and detonate it, killing innocent patients, doctors and nurses.
&#0149 Hijack a helicopter them fly it at an low angle, so you kill a queue of sightseers with the rotor blades.
&#0149 Follow garbage trucks on a motorcycle firing a machine gun at the Sanitation Workers on the back, whose only crime was working hard to keep the city clean.
&#0149 Falsely call the Fire Department from atop a building, and snipe the Firemen when the get out of the Firetruck, killing hard working heroes.
&#0149 Stab up a Rabbi with a knife, then stab up the Paramedics who arrive to help him.
&#0149 Take a Nurse out on a date, and take her out by driving your car off a bridge into the harbour.
&#0149 Take a Lawyer out on a date, fly her in a helicopter to the top of a skyscraper and push her off.

Yet for some bizarre reason, the media focuses on beating up prostitutes, like it was the most despicable act in the world.

It makes me think they have some kind of secret agenda involving sex workers.

 

[x434343]

I love how they give the kids cards to help teach the difference about real and unreal violence.

Violencemon- Gotta Beat 'em All!

 

[Thwarted]

you know, im pretty sure young children are fully aware of the concept of fiction. This is complete crap.

 

[CJ1145]

That clapping sound that I'm sure all of you just heard was me facepalming.
But seriously are kids these days so thick that they can't tell the difference between something you see in real life and something seen in a magical box with worse than life graphics. If this is the youth of today (partially calling the kettle black here) then I hope to gods that theres a nuclear war tomorrow to knock a bit of sense into the human race.

Fuck that, we need some giant squids up in this place.

But really, UK? You're honestly doing this? Your children should not need to know the difference between a game and real life. There's some very obvious differences.

 

[The_Decoy]

I just...don't understand...why is this happening? Pretty sure most kids can tell the difference between fiction and reality. Guess the government just like to show their doing something, even if it is entirely pointless.

 

[Treblaine]

Very much in favour of this.

As long as the police emphasise how if YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH for the age-rating then you are old enough to make the distinction. Though I still think some discretion should be left to the parent like if they have a 17 year old son, just like how a parent can let their under-age son drink occasionally.

I just...don't understand...why is this happening? Pretty sure most kids can tell the difference between fiction and reality. Guess the government just like to show their doing something, even if it is entirely pointless.

10 year old kids... I remember the dumb shit I thought at that age, kids are pretty stupid at that age. Especially if they combine their stupidity together by talking to each other without an adult to set them straight.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Duh, they're stupid, what else is there to say?
I grew up on violence (not true obviously, but I did play GTA as a kid... and even Prince of Persia 2!), and I haven't managed to dismember anyone yet.

 

[mad825]

I see, I see the land of epic failure and another land where Tanya Byron is a FU**ING hypocrite

 

[Simalacrum]

I reckon its ok... still images are very different from the game itself, afterall.

Besides, their using it to show the difference between real life and games, cartoons, etc... Surely thats a good thing, considering people are continuously moaning about video games apparently 'disensitising' people from violence?

 

[Kajt]

You know that kids are getting dumber when you have to teach them the difference between reality and fiction.

 

[omega 616]

Wait, 10 and 11 year olds are looking at violent bits of an 18 game? Riiiiiight.

Maybe we should show them stills of the Devils rejects, there is some messed up stuff in that film. Even better, old boy, to teach kids not to think about there sister that way.

I sometimes question who is in charge of our lives, politicians should be forced to have IQ tests, if they score lower than 140 they can't run the country, might see some improvement then.

 

[The_Decoy]

10 year old kids... I remember the dumb shit I thought at that age, kids are pretty stupid at that age. Especially if they combine their stupidity together by talking to each other without an adult to set them straight.

I'll agree wholeheartedly that I thought about dumb shit and was pretty stupid, and that these traits continue to this day. But I was 11 when GTA 3 came out and I did not need assistance in extricating it's events from those that occur in reality.

This article seems to favour the "games cause violence" argument, which a government report (gah, what was the name? I forget. It was mentioned here a while ago, but I can't find it now.) largely debunked. This experiment is unnecessary and propagates unfounded negative ideas.

Oh though may I add I am in favour of the age-rating system being more strictly controlled by an independent body, and that children under such age limits should not be allowed to play the games they are not allowed to.

 

[Treblaine]

10 year old kids... I remember the dumb shit I thought at that age, kids are pretty stupid at that age. Especially if they combine their stupidity together by talking to each other without an adult to set them straight.

I'll agree wholeheartedly that I thought about dumb shit and was pretty stupid, and that these traits continue to this day. But I was 11 when GTA 3 came out and I did not need assistance in extricating it's events from those that occur in reality.

This article seems to favour the "games cause violence" argument, which a government report (gah, what was the name? I forget. It was mentioned here a while ago, but I can't find it now.) largely debunked. This experiment is unnecessary and propagates unfounded negative ideas.

Oh though may I add I am in favour of the age-rating system being more strictly controlled by an independent body, and that children under such age limits should not be allowed to play the games they are not allowed to.

it's a probability game, not every single kid will be screwed up by playing GTA (which I why parents should still be allowed to make the final call).

But the thing is while it is VANISHINGLY small probability that an 18+ year old will play GTA4 and actually be inspired to break the law by the influence of that game alone, but I think it is very different with young kids.

Perhaps not playing the game alone, but playing it and a combined lower than average common-sense of one kid multiplied by their dumbness to the power of number of friends talking about it... you can see if there is JUST ONE case then people get worried.

And you know what, the less that GTA4 ends up in the news because of some dumb kid, the less likely my games are going to face government censorship, which I HEAVILY oppose and I think everyone can agree with me on that.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Something similar happened when I was in school.

Somewhere around 4th grade, we were herded into a room with a TV in it. Next to the TV was some dude we had never seen before, and he started showing us clips from various movies while explaining why this was nothing like real life.

One example I remember, is the scene from "Blazing Saddles" where the bandits come to town for the first time and, among other things, beat up an old lady ("This is impossible", he said, "anyone that old would have died from such a beating") and lasso a man's legs, dragging him down the street after a horse as he complains, "Well - that's the end of this suit!" (The dude: "In reality, nobody would have been able to complain about their suit, because they would have been to busy screaming in pain.")

And so on. He just kept this up for an unnecessarily long time, showing us great clips from great movies - and telling us why they were crap!

After he was finished and we were herded out of the room, I remember thinking: "That dude was good at explaining stuff... Damn shame he didn't know shit about movies!"