It all started off as a joke that I made three years ago in in my 10th grade Global History class. A student asked me what they could do to earn a 100% in my class and I told them, “beat me one-on-one in Super Smash Bros.” I was just being my sarcastic self, but this comment actually ended up fostering a gaming community in my school.

I’ve been playing games for pretty much as long as I can remember. I grew up with two brothers and playing video games with them was really one of the best ways to actually hang out and get along with one another instead of just fighting all of the time. We would take turns playing Super Mario Bros. 3, or watched my older brother play Ocarina of Time while I tried to make sense of a guidebook to help him progress through the game. I was only six at the time so reading that was a real challenge. The games we always played the most together were from the Super Smash Bros. series. A rivalry blossomed between my older brother and myself. We played countless hours with each successive game release. One of my favorite memories is when we played Super Smash Bros. Melee for hours upon hours with my brothers during a car ride from New York to Florida. I continued playing in tournaments with my friends in high school and made good friends with a number of other players in college. These games helped mold me as a gamer and introduced me to the geek communities that I call home today.

Let’s get back to my students. I currently teach at a school dedicated to newly arrived immigrants, most of whom come from impoverished countries or areas. While many of them know about Super Smash Bros., most haven't really had the opportunity to play past the original game on the Nintendo 64, or Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube. My students knew I loved video games, but at the time I jokingly challenged them to beat me, we had never really had the chance to play together. So of course my students seized this opportunity to organize a video game club that met once a week. We call it a video game club, but in reality it’s just a Super Smash Bros. Club. Regardless of the name of the club it created a community that everyone was welcome to and frankly learned from - a group born out of love for video games and being a geek.

The very first get together consisted of about fifteen students and myself. We booted up Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Wii U and each student got one chance to fight me one-on-one. Five lives each, standard level, no items. I absolutely destroyed each and every one of them. One after another they walked up as if walking the plank to be embarrassed by their teacher. I don’t know how well you all remember high school, but teenagers go crazy when their teachers show them up in something, especially in front of their peers. Since I absolutely trounced them all, I told them for the time being I will simply facilitate the club and that they need to practice before playing against me again. They would never get better if I just kept winning every single time they played. This is where that teaching aspect comes into play. Teachers need to be there to help facilitate learning aspects - including video games - and bring the individual to be the best they possibly can be. Without adequate understanding of the video game worlds or even the basic knowledge of how bringing this club together, many individuals may not have been able to participate or even know where they fit in.

That was three years ago. We have met as a group every single school week since with an ever rotating group of students. Some have gone on to graduate with new freshmen finding their way to the club each year - because of the feeling of belongness. Those original students who asked me about how they can get a 100% in my class are now in their senior year and they have improved so much. They now force the newer students to walk the plank just as they had done with me years earlier. They’ve created a community among people of different ages, races, genders, and languages who may have never had the opportunity to be friends with one another if it wasn’t for their love of video games. When you walk into the cafeteria, it is just as segregated as the one in Mean Girls, but not this club. These games help bridge a gap that is often very difficult to close, especially since many of them speak different languages. It also helped create stronger relationships between students and myself.

Having a meaningful relationship with your students is one of the most important aspects of teaching. It creates a better learning environment for everyone and helps students access your material. I have had students who struggle in my class begin coming to extra help because they considered me more approachable after partaking in the video game club. Students can often be weary of seeking help and sometimes, something as simple as playing Super Smash Bros. with them can give them that push to break out of their shell. I often get confused faces from family and friends when I tell them one of the best parts of teaching has been playing video games with my students.

It will be bittersweet when the original crew of students graduates later this year. I have moved up grades with them each year so this is now my fourth year in a row with these students. Until then we will continue to meet every week with them still on that endless quest for a 100% grade in my class. After more than three years of playing this game, I still remain undefeated.

Haven’t really thought out what I’ll do if a student ever actually does win, but I know that I have left a lasting impression upon them that they will take not just through the rest of their academic career, but also their life through different experiences.

Zachary Hartzman is a licensed Secondary School Teacher in New York. He teaches high school Social Studies in New York City where he has taught Global History, United States History, Economics, and Government. He is the founder of Hey Listen Games, a website dedicated to the creation of curriculum for teaching with video games. It is also a space where educators can engage in discourse and share their experiences with game based learning. He has been featured in a number of educational podcasts where he advocates for game based learning in schools as a way to increase engagement among students and social emotional learning. He frequently travels to video game and comic conventions in order to both learn and share how to utilize geek culture as a method of making learning more fun and improving school culture. He is active on twitter at @HeyListenGames_

Zachary Hartzman has a Masters in the Teaching of Social Studies from Teachers College at Columbia University and is a licensed Secondary School Teacher. More information on him can be found at: https://www.heylistengames.org





