David — one study I wrote about recently claimed that college freshmen are feeling more stressed than ever before. The Belmont University ad you mentioned gave me an idea: Perhaps it is the video gaming, and not the schooling itself, that is pushing students over the edge. I think it’s worth considering. Ultimately, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto may be more emotionally taxing than any of us realized.
Then again, maybe all this student stress comes from being forced to spend time away from their favorite games in order to, you know, go to class and read and stuff.
I see only one solution here: We’ll have to replace lectures and reading with video games in the college classroom. Actually, they’re already doing it at the University of Florida. This from PC World:
Problem-solving skills used in one of — if not the most — popular real-time strategy games of all time are not unlike those used in the 21st Century real world. At least that is the song that the University of Florida is singing. The school, located in Gainesville, Florida, is offering a two-credit honors course titled, “21st century Skills in Starcraft.” The eight-week class “does not teach about Starcraft,” but combines weekly gameplay, analysis of recorded matches and “synthesis of real/game-world concepts,” to develop workplace skills.
You read right; it’s an honors course! (Paging Amy Chua.)