"Seduction of the Innocent: New Gamers in the Classroom" Topic

Well, it's that time of year again. My 12th grade military history class has taken to the battlefield to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. Given the connection between our school and the Battle of Germantown, it's kind of a no-brainer that we'll refight the battle that happened right in our (literal) front yard. A great group of kids this year, who picked up Black Powder in less than a day.

Of course, I have an ulterior motive. I'm running a mini-course in Simulation Games next semester.

Read the first installment here:

link

More to come in a few days.

Awesome -hope the students liked it!

We've only done two (of a scheduled five) classes so far. They've already learned the thrills and pains that come from statistically improbable die rolls and having opponents take advantage of one's blunder. In short, the whole wargaming experience!

Great job. I am surprised that some pussy administrator isn't raising the alarm about toy guns and simulated killings in the school

I'm surprised the p-word made it through the -o-matic! :)

While I'm part of a faculty that leans pretty far to the political left and has more than its share of ex-hippies, admins and fellow teachers have been very supportive of the activity. Some grin and roll their eyes at the nerd-king history teacher, but more than a few have come in to swap Warhammer stories with me.

Thanks for posting and I'm glad you get to do this. However, given the scale of the figures and not being an expert on the battle of Germantown, I recommend you specify things with more than 'the British left', such as bottom left of photo? At least I see a bunch of figures gathered there, but who knows?

I'll keep that in mind as I make future posts, and perhaps I'll go back and make a few edits, plus a link to the simple-yet-clear map on the British Battles website.

Looks like a private school. How many students in your class?

Great motivator!

Very cool. Keep it up!

Doug

It's a private school. This seminar has only eight students.

Edits up!

Way to grow the hobby Dr. Mark.

Yes, I didn't know I could say pussy on this board, that nearly doubles my vocabulary.

I am interested in how the girl did. I have never gamed against a girl and would like to see how they approach wargaming.

MadMark-- No one is more surprised about that than me!

Me too, though I'd probably be arrested for claiming to seduce the innocent… ;)

My cadets do enjoy the AWI. Some photos here of them refighting Cornwallis' flank attack at the Brandywine (an action, a general, a battle and indeed a WAR that none of them had ever heard of until about two minutes before this photo was taken… That says all you need to know about British education…)

Sadly, I didn't get any photos of the next game, which was Guildford Courthouse. The American C-in-C there was a 13 year-old girl who had never wargamed before, yet gave the lads a damned good thrashing – even launching a very well-times counter-attack with her third line of Continentals.

Having done games with cadets for over 20 years now, I tend to find that the girls pay more attention to tactical situations and 'common sense', whereas the lads tend to concentrate on stats, +1s and 'coollness' of particular units. Consequently, the girls invariably beat them.

It's a private school. This seminar has only eight students.

Must be nice. When I taught High School History I had 30 to 35 students in each class. Could never pull this off in most public schools. It is nice and a very neat thing to do. Something I would have loved to have done. But just not practical.

Its amazing what you can do with only eight private school kids in your classroom. Count your blessings my friend. Keep up the good work.

Mark;
Sorry. I forgot to give you a jingle as we got closer to last weekend. If you would like me to stop by and do another talk, just let me know.

Use the work email: eric.p.turner.mil@mail.mil

The Shutdown has been a bit of a trial.

Eric

@ Mark Davies

Third picture down…Are those two guys eating the fallen? What are you teaching those kids? :)

Nice setup, Mark! When my students learned about the Brandywine, they were stunned. "You mean Washington got flanked AGAIN?"

Good to hear from you, Eric. Sorry I did not get in touch with you this year. We had to shuffle the schedule to make way for a special project--an alum is funding a veterans' memorial and I've asked my students to research in the archives to find a list of names and stories.

Grossman, we have some pretty competitive girls at my school, and they quickly learn that, despite the terrain, the gaming table is a very level playing field.

Very cool and good work! I teach in an urban high school and have gotten many of my students into wargaming by tying it to a test review. Their initiative roll doesn't count unless they answer a question correctly.

I also don't have my own classroom so I have to be able to quickly disassemble whatever my students were playing in about 10 minutes and take it with me. lol.

My hats off to both Dr Mark and of course, as always, to R Mark Davies. Aside from "growing the hobby" what an excellent way to make history come alive once again. This is true interactivity and gives a feel for the terrain and situation that just reading can never do and even better than computer simulation.

Are they 54mm? Having used gaming in the classroom when I taught high school, I have observed that the girls tend to be aggressive and very detail oriented. Great job!

No, my students are average height, from 5'1" to around 6'2".

Oh, you meant the minis. They're 15mm. Since we have to stow the game board in a corner of my classroom after each session, space is somewhat limited.

I posted the events from today's session on the blog. Things are starting the get a little goofy.

link

Stryderg,

That explains the sticky figures afterwards… We'll be having a 'chat' prior to the next game!

Mark,

My guys said "Cool… Which side was Washington on again, Sir?"

Having met Mark's class last year, let me say they were all well behaved, polite, and interested in what I had to say.

I hope, Mark, we can link up again next year. If you need someone to talk 1812, well, I can do that as well…

Eric

And after a thunder of dice and wail of defeat, our simulation came to a close last Friday. Read the tragic end here:

link