By Lukas P and Alexis Z
There are many clubs at Mountain Range, many are smaller or less talked about. Ones that everyone knows exists, but not many people attend. A good example of this is the Game Club, hosted by science teachers Mr. Tyler and Mr. Davis. They’ve brought students together solely
with the idea of video games, both new and old.
Davis and Tyler meet in the science hallway every Monday afternoon, bringing video games of all types. New, old, and revamped games as well as games for many different old and new gen
consoles.
Game Club started from the ground last school year. At its birth, not a lot of students attended, and if they did, they wouldn’t attend consistently. Many students would go once, but then never return.
Game Club had a rough start, but it picked up traction very quickly and gained popularity through its promotion on the school announcements and through the sponsors to their daily science classes. At the beginning. Davis and Tyler had very limited resources, which consisted of two TV’s and their personal consoles. However, with the club growing in attendance and popularity, the amount of resources they had also grew.
Eventually they had expanded the club to have two TV’s, as well as the use of in-classroom
projectors. And they went from only having their personal nintendo switches to having retro
game consoles on top of their own. Tyler and Davis put endless time and effort into game club to make it enjoyable for those attending. This included not just hosting gae club, but
participating, playing games with and against kids and providing endless entertainment for all
involved.
Game club has become an outlet for some students. One day a week, students get to enjoy
time with peers who share their interests and it allows for them to set aside the outside world
and only focus on their friends and the games in front of them, something that many students
may not get outside of Game Club. This club allows for students to make friends and new solid high school memories.
This doesn’t mean that they aren’t at least a small bit unsatisfied with the amount of games they bring in for students. Both Tyler and Davis noted that they’d like to bring in more games for the students, specifically more board games for the students that aren’t as interested in video games and staring at screens having done it all day during school. Mr. Tyler also stated that he’d like to bring in more games that require student interaction. Davis added onto this by
stating that he wanted more retro games and even possibly bringing in small arcade machines.
Despite the one unsatisfactory element, game club is a fun place to be, it brings students
together to bond over something that can be shared throughout multiple generations: games.
When asked how much fun was had at Game Club, both sponsors had numbers between 8 and 10. Game Club is fun, even for teachers, or adults in that generation.
Students said the same. A game club attendee stated that game club is “super fun. Everyone is nice and it’s a great atmosphere of nerds” which was the goal from the beginning. This
anonymous student also reported wanting to see more retro games make their way into the
club.
Now, no club or organization is complete without its flaws. When asked if they would change
anything. Hosts Tyler and Davis stated that they like the way game club is running. However,
it was also noted by an attendee that competitions every once in a while to “bring everyone
together” would be beneficial to the club, and bring a little bit of a competitive element to the
environment.
Despite the fun aspect of it all, it is an extracurricular school activity, which may leave an
average person wondering; Are students and teachers learning and teaching during this activity, or is it just something to take up time? The answer is yes, students are learning and teachers are teaching. But not the content you might think.
Mr Davis noted that he feels as though he’s teaching in the way that he’s explaining the rules
and procedures of different games he brings into the club. Mr. Tyler had a similar response,
stating that “We teach kids to interact socially and accept failure,” which just goes to show that these small extracurriculars can be learning opportunities to build better social skills.
The sponsors of the club, while very satisfied with their consistent 15 members, both said that they would like to see more students in Game Club, stating that “video games are designed to be played with friends” and that “Games are amazing stress relief for kids and adults, and it’s an excellent opportunity to make new friends and create lasting memories” Game Club has come a long way since its beginning and growing more and more popular as time goes on.