On Jun 18, 2012, at 7:55 PM, Jon Louis Mann wrote: > Whew, thanks for that, Dan; sorry if I came off as if I > was superior because reading is a priority for me, Dave. > I saw my 9 year old son, this fathers' day. He wasn't > interested in the soccer or volley balls I got him and > just wanted to play DS Mario, so I spent most of my > visitation giving my thumbs a workout. Maybe I would > enjoy it more if we played Fallout, but his helicopter > mother would never allow it. What I really would like > to see is my son reading the juvenile Heinlein books I > tried to interest him him but he says reading is boring. > He prefers to spend his time watching cartoons and > playing video games. When I was his age, I played > baseball until it was too dark to see.
I think the one who owes an apology is me: I am more ambivalent about my own and my son's gaming than I let on. I'm delighted that, through gaming, Ryan has developed an interest (and no small skill) in programming. He's learned enough Lua (the language used to modify "Garry's Mod", an open-ended physics engine "game") to have fans of his work. I'm less delighted that it's like pulling teeth to get him to engage in much of anything else, including school. Like you, at his age, I was on my bike from sun-up 'til the street lights came on, bashing around with my one good childhood friend, and I think that there are things he's missing as a result. So please accept my apology for putting words in your mouth. Dave _______________________________________________ http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
