Caution: Rant ahead.
Years ago, I worked in a tall building with a lot of well-educated professionals. Our offices were located downtown and looked right over a school attended by low-income children. Like a lot of affluent Americans, we spent a lot of time criticizing public education, complaining that students didn’t know math, had no work ethic, etc. etc. and how SOMEBODY ought to get in there and shake things up.
One day, I suggested in a staff meeting that WE do something. The school was literally right outside our front door. Imagine what a difference it would make if each of the hundreds of managers, engineers, accountants and other competent role models spent an hour each week helping out at the school! The reaction from my colleagues and our executives was a unanimous
When we said someone should do something, we didn’t mean US. We pay taxes and bitch about the state of education. Isn’t that enough. Somebody should do something. Somebody else.
I thought that somebody was actually me, so I quit that job and co-founded 7 Generation Games.
Here are some things we can do for you right now:
If you are a Title I school and cannot afford the $500 for an annual license for all of our games for a whole school ($100 for a classroom), hit me up NOW. We had several wonderful people sponsor schools and classrooms as Christmas presents to their loved ones. Email info@7generationgames.com  and we will arrange for you to get the games for free.
Starting on Wednesday, January 11, I’ll be sending out a weekly “teacher pack” that will contain free links to powerpoints, handouts and videos that teach a specific concept, like adding fractions with like denominators. I put “teacher pack” in quotes because lots of parents are trying to teach their children at home, either helping with homework or homeschooling.
If you are learning to code or thinking about teaching your students, I am doing a series on making games with impact. Although this series uses a game library that is not free (it costs $99) you or your students can read the series to get an idea of what goes into creating a game.  Next month, I’ll be doing a series using JavaScript, with a simpler game.
Want to have fun and be smarter ? Check out Fish Lake.
