http://www.iflscience.com/technology/norwegian-school-offer-esports-classes-part-curriculum

A public high school in Norway has announced plans to add eSports to its physical education curriculum. Though details of how these courses will be conducted and assessed have yet to be finalized, representatives of Garnes Vidaregåande Skule in Bergen have revealed that students will be able to take the new classes from the start of the next academic year.

The school is currently designing a specialized game room, which will contain 15 high-end gaming PCs and will be able to hold up to 30 students at a time. The plan is therefore for half of those in the class to play video games at a time, while the others take part in a range of physical exercises designed to enhance key skills required for eSports success, such as concentration and reflexes.

Although no public schools in the Scandinavian country have previously offered eSports to students, Petter Grahl Johnstadt, who manages the school’s science department, told Datoblast that receiving permission to launch the scheme was facilitated by the fact that the same curriculum requirements for other sports also apply to eSports. For instance, students will be graded on attributes such as their ability to communicate while playing team-based games, as well their mastery of tactics and strategies, just as they are when playing soccer or handball.

The school has put together a list of games that it considers suitable for the course and has asked students to choose their favourites, with the two most popular being taught in the classes. All of those on the list are team games, such as Dota 2, Counter-Strike and League of Legends.

Students who opt to take the classes will receive five hours of tuition a week, with the school currently in the process of recruiting expert teachers. In addition, they will be expected to make use of the gaming facilities in their free time in order to hone their skills. It is hoped that students will then form teams in order to compete in both national and international eSports tournaments, which often offer lucrative financial prizes.

"what kind of education do you want"
"just fuck up my life forever fam"

This seems a little bit silly to me, but you know--so do regular sports.

I can only imagine the rage from people who got in a fuss about sports channels getting esports last year. It will be glorious.

I think it's ridiculous, but I suppose if it's a viable source of income then it's not totally stupid.

How many e-sport competitors actually make a livable wage off it? Wonder if it's more than sporty-types trying to become the next Olympic medalist.

depends on the game/org they play for, and how popular they are as a player. the best/most popular league of legends players/owners live extremely comfortably, and even the run of the mill pro players are salaried (w/ extra benefits from sponsorships/streaming partnerships) and have housing/other things provided for them. valve doesnt salary their dota 2 players AFAIK but the last world championship, the international 2015, had a prize pool of ~$18mil. competitive gaming incomes vary quite wildly depending on game/player, and as with regular sports, only the absolute best of the best get to enjoy the benefits of being a competitive gamer. however, since people are becoming more accepting of competitive gaming, kids especially, i think its a good thing for schools to officially support clubs for games. its a good way to get students to keep their minds sharp/learn to work together/etc.

Looks like another school shooting will happen. League makes people do some things, man..

Nothing wrong with this IMO.

Its better than going to a vocational school and studying art or music IMO. At least Esports can lead to something. 

Can you imagine this happening in the US?

Hopefully it does

Honestly it is okay. But it has to focus on strong teamwork participation. I wonder if rocket league should have their own championship of their own considering how the game is.

Quote from: Fuddy Duddy II on January 15, 2016, 01:14:22 PM

Can you imagine this happening in the US?

I totally get it as a club, but as an actual class? It's insane. There isn't even a football class, so the comparison to sports is meaningless.

actually schools do have weight training classes specifically for football players, or at least the schools in my county do. theres a distinct difference between the football classes and standard weight training classes too.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:24:03 PM

Quote from: Dean "Turkey" Strang on January 15, 2016, 02:03:46 PM

Quote from: Fuddy Duddy II on January 15, 2016, 01:14:22 PM

Can you imagine this happening in the US?

I totally get it as a club, but as an actual class? It's insane. There isn't even a football class, so the comparison to sports is meaningless.

actually schools do have weight training classes specifically for football players, or at least the schools in my county do. theres a distinct difference between the football classes and standard weight training classes too.

Weight training is either a substitute for, or the next level of, regular required P.E. classes.

they spend the class period specifically conditioning themselves to be better football players. i think it counts.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:27:49 PM

they spend the class period specifically conditioning themselves to be better football players. i think it counts.

I think anyone would be able to recognize the benefits of exercise over video games if an academic period has to be substituted for.

why does it necessarily have to replace a PE class? there are plenty of other electives it could replace for a student, like an art class or band, etc.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:33:45 PM

Quote from: Dean "Turkey" Strang on January 15, 2016, 02:31:34 PM

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:27:49 PM

they spend the class period specifically conditioning themselves to be better football players. i think it counts.

I think anyone would be able to recognize the benefits of exercise over video games if an academic period has to be substituted for.

why does it necessarily have to replace a PE class? there are plenty of other electives it could replace for a student, like an art class or band, etc.

The arts are demonstrably beneficial for academic development; video games aren't.

video games are art though? and can help with cognitive development? (http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132077565/video-games-boost-brain-power-multitasking-skills_)

 whatever this convo isnt going anywhere im done here. you're obviously set in stone on this. id prefer if it were an extracurricular too, for what its worth.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:38:43 PM

video games are art though?

That doesn't justify making it a class anymore than listening to music for an hour would.

Quote

whatever this convo isnt going anywhere im done here. you're obviously set in stone on this. id prefer if it were an extracurricular too, for what its worth.

Then what's the point of defending it as a class?

If these guys want to play video games instead of take some other academic class that's fine, but it's dishonest to call it a worthwhile replacement for the arts, sciences, or P.E., especially in a public school.

i was defending it because it appeared to me that the points you were making against it didnt hold up when it came to actual facts.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 15, 2016, 02:46:28 PM

i was defending it because it appeared to me that the points you were making against it didnt hold up when it came to actual facts.

Verb said he thinks sports are silly, I responded by saying the sports comparison doesn't even work because sports are extra-curricular, and you responded by telling me that your school offers weightlifting (not a football class -- weightlifting). Am I missing something? I'm really confused as to what point you're trying to make -- are comparisons to regular sports legitimate? Is offering eSports just as "silly" as regular sports?

allow me to correct myself: in my first post, i said "weight training classes" instead of "conditioning classes;" this may have caused a fundamental misunderstanding. i did go on to specify twice that the football conditioning classes are distinct from standard weight training classes. let me say it again: those football classes exist specifically so that players within the school's football program can condition themselves to be better at the sport. that process involves more than just weight training; it includes reviewing film, cardiovascular exercise, passing drills, training with dummies (for linemen), among other things. do you understand what i meant when i said there was a distinction now?

comparisons to regular sports are legitimate insofar as these competitive games are skill-based and require a lot of practice (and in many cases, the development of proper teamwork). it isnt silly to offer sports or competitive gaming as an extracurricular, and it certainly isnt silly for a program (athletic or gaming) to develop an elective class that allows players to get extra training while also earning course credit. just as the football conditioning period may act as an acceptable replacement for a regular PE class or "normal" weight training class, it is also acceptable for a competitive gaming program to offer an elective.