It Takes a Village: Socialization as a Practice Community

Yesterday several guildies were online at the same time and we all decided to do Blackfathom Deeps, yeah another instance. Balamor was one of those available, and he had in tow a friend he'd made while playing a few w0eeks back. Her name is Moonbows (as in rainbows), and she is 14 years old, but a level 40-something mage or rogue. The rest were adults.

As we began, I joked that I hoped there wasn't any swimming involved. (See my entry on swimming.), and was told no, no problem. Of course, that meant there was swimming, but only a little bit. There was also jumping across gaps, which can be a challenge when you are a tiny gnome. At each of these elements, I stumbled. At one point I suggested the group go on w/o me till I'd gotten a better grasp on my physical abilities. James was obstinate and actually used CAPS to encourage me to try again and again. He also went back to wait for me at the instance entrance instead of making me fight my way through to where the group was waiting. He demonstrated very kind and patience and supportive behavior, and with his help, I finally I got through to the group and we finished out the cave with much gusto and comraderie.

However, James is not the point. Well he is, but not just to commend his behavior. After the instance was over I realized that the whole experience had given the 14 year old girl the opportunity to hang with adults, see adults problem-solve, but most importantly, see adults help each other. The adult group, especially but not only James, demonstrated values in action, the kind of values that I think we'd all love our children to adopt and display as throughout life. It was better than Sunday school...well, as good as?...no it was better. This was not schooling ABOUT values, this was not a demo or a role playing experience. Even though we were in roles at the time, the behaviors were emanating from real people engaged with other real people. This was better than an afterschool special. This was a community of practice in action, where the practice was prosocial behavior. This was the village raising the young.

Now where else in real life do kids get to be part of something like this? In the structured play we offer them, e.g., Girl Scouts, sports teams, summer camp, the adults are really not engaged with other adults AND the child/children at the seam time on the same task. They are teaching or herding or parenting. There's got to be another place, though I am hard pressed to think of one. Perhaps in an emergency, say in New Orleans, you might get that experience. And perhaps that's why it happens in WoW. We must be able to rely on each other. We are brothers in arms and we know we need to foster relationships to make that possible. Because children are also playing the game, they get sucked in to that experience as well. Hopefully they also learn the value of collective relationships, and how and why to tend them.

Pondering all this and happier to have Sarah (now 12) playing WoW than Neopets or ToonTown, which are a kids only communities. (Actually she's safer on WoW than on either of those because those are magnets for inappropriate adult behavior whereas WoW is an adult space with adults actively, publicly monitoring their community.).

We should find a way to talk to the tweens and teens playing this game. I know I've commented on the shaping of youthful behavior in this blog before.

Hallgrima