When it comes to heavyweights in the video gaming world, former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor probably isn’t the first person who comes to mind. But with her non-profit educational venture called iCivics, O’Connor has added gamer to her distinguished resume.
“Justice O’Connor was concerned with the frequency and intensity of verbal attacks directed at our judicial system,” said Jeff Curley, co-founder of iCivics, Inc. “She realized that many of these attacks stemmed from a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the judicial branch of government.”
So in 2009 she set out to create an interactive computer program to help students learn about how our government and judicial system work. The program includes games about immigration, the duties of the executive branch and how budgets are made.
According to Curley, students in all 50 states have played the games more than 2 million times. At KidPower, a Washington D.C. summer camp that uses iCivics as part of its curriculum, students said they didn’t learn very much in school about how our judicial system works.
“In school, I don’t learn as much about the government or laws,” said 13-year-old Devin Flowers. “But on iCivics, I learn about most of it.”
Gregory Henderson, director of KidPower and former teacher, said he thinks schools are overlooking civics lessons because there’s so much pressure to do well on standardized tests. Math and science are emphasized more than geography, American history and government, he said.
Henderson said the iCivics program is an especially important teaching tool in urban areas like Washington, D.C.
“Unfortunately a lot of our kids are living in neighborhoods that aren’t great,” Henderson said. “They see the impact of the judicial system on their friends and family and people in their communities, but they don’t really know how it works.”
Dimetrice Spicer, 10, said iCivics taught him about the Bill of Rights, how laws are made and what the rights and responsibilities are of every American. He said that because he’s playing on the computer while learning, it makes it easier to understand.
“It’s more fun to learn about this stuff on the computer than just sitting in school and listening about it,” Spicer said.
Antwan Walker, 12, clicked on pieces of trash littering his computer screen in a module about keeping your community clean.
“I’m learning about the responsibilities of a citizen and I’m cleaning up a park,” he said.
Teachers and school administrators can download iCivics free of charge on www.iCivics.org.