Games People Play
Games People PlaySome people have recently been posting about classroom games in an Economics thread in a public discussion forum. Now, I was long ago thrown out of that forum (no need to go into why though I’ll happily say why if anyone emails). Nonetheless I try to keep the occasional eye on what goes on there. A few of the posters have been posting games that can be played to illustrate economic concepts. Bized have an excellent section on Economics games and there is also a site with experiments on that may then be adapted for an Economics lesson.
This whole idea of using games to illustrate concepts is excellent. Only last week I attended a Christian Aid Teacher's seminar as I hope to shortly become a Christian Aid Teacher. (Why don’t other teachers also offer their services – the more the merrier!) We played a trading game which is also available from Oxfam who sell it on behalf of Christian Aid.
Despite the initial confusion (you'd have to play it to fully understand that comment!) the game went very well and lessons were clearly learned. This game, in my opinion, would be ideal for a Business Studies class too and one day when I run a general conference rather than a specific one, I’ll play this game. Out of chaos, learning takes place!
The whole idea of using games instead of the ‘stand and deliver’ approach is to be welcomed but they take a lot of organising. For a start you have to have a willing class – not one that will wreck things at the earliest opportunity! Equally the class should be lively otherwise – certainly with the Trading Game – the game may fall flat.
In England the most famous ‘game’, more correctly called the ‘beautiful game’ is football though it does have its ugly side . Media speculation is at its highest as Sven is to be replaced this summer, after the World Cup. Alan Shearer (Newcastle) opines that the England manager need not necessarily have much experience at club level – and he points to the managers of Germany and Holland as examples. The type of leadership at national level is somewhat different to that where there is day-to-day involvement as with a club.
The same might be said with teaching. A good Business Studies teacher does not necessarily make a good Head of Department. If your first love is teaching i.e. extensive classroom time then you may not take too well with administration, departmental meetings etc etc. Certainly when I was offered the Head of Business Studies post at Claires Court School a few years ago I declined – and also resigned form my post as teacher there to concentrate more on activities in Oxford. My first love is teaching, not administration, not designing courses, not attending ‘strategy’ meetings. One-off courses and conferences are fine but not on a regular basis. I like being in a classroom exploring, discussing, arguing, debating, investigating … ‘living’ Business Studies/Economics rather than sitting around poring through courses, dealing with enquiries, parents, exam entries etc etc.
That does not mean I am a poor teacher because I have no desire to climb up the ranks. I know what I like doing best and I try to make sure that other non-teaching tasks are done by other people. Going back to Sven, as, it was once rumoured, Ulrika once did, he said he was looking forward to the day-to-day contact of club management. (Presumably at a £5m a year salary…now, when is Sir Alex leaving – or will the Real Madrid job become vacant?) Think of the good club managers – Graham Taylor, Glen Hoddle, Kevin Keegan – who somehow didn’t manage to repeat their success at international level. Only Bobby Robson and Terry Venables seemed to be able to make the leap from club to international management.
So, just because you know your level doesn’t make you any better or worse, but it sure makes you happier. People play many different games in life both in and out of the classroom, learning a few more to use in lesson-time is unlikely to do harm and may actually make a dismal subject interesting.
Chris Sivewright
posted by Duncan Williamson @ 1:58 AM
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