EP12: What Does E-Sports Have To Do with Equity?

This week, we’re thrilled to sit down with High School Special Education teacher Stephanie Current from Lamphere High School to talk about how E-Sports (organized competitive video gaming) supports a school climate where each and every student grows academically and socially. Listen to this enlightening discussion that connects the dots between video gaming, academic learning, and lifelong skills. More than just another after school club, E-Sports can be a strategy to widen the possibilities of what school can be for all learners.

Hosts: Jay Haffner - Literacy Consultant, Katie Morrison - Mathematics Education Consultant, Dr. Steven Snead - Supervisor of Curriculum & Assessment.

This podcast is proudly brought to you by Oakland Schools Intermediate School District in the great state of Michigan. Oakland Schools is an educational service agency that offers support services to school districts that are best delivered regionally and provide cost, size and quality advantages to those we serve. Oakland Schools is an autonomous, tax-supported public school district governed by Michigan General School Laws and is one of 56 intermediate school districts (ISDs) established in Michigan in 1962.

If you are an educator in Oakland County, Michigan, check out www.oakland.k12.mi.us to explore the services and professional learning opportunities available to support you. 

Have feedback for the hosts? We'd love to hear from you! Email steven.snead@oakland.k12.mi.us to connect with us. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Good afternoon, good evening, or good morning, wherever you happen to be. This is the Teaching Tomorrow podcast with my main man's 100 grand, Jay Hafner, Oakland Schools Literacy Consultant.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Happy to be here on this very frosty day. It's cold out. Very cold. Good morning here.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

And one of the very best, if not the best, mathematics educational improvement consultants in all the land.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

That's so sweet. Hello, everyone. What you talking about is sweet.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

I speak facts on the teacher tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Katie Morrison, math consultant, Oakland School. So excited to be here. Another episode dropping in this cold, cold weather.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

And of course, I am but one of your hosts.33 or 33%.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

We got into this last time. We did. We did. We did it. Pick a value and go with it.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Actually, I actually have another value to pick with you. Somebody who speaks facts. I'm your main man with a hundred grand. I wanted I I ain't got a hundred grand of nothing nowhere. Anywhere. You have to Jay. I wish I did. Let's clear this up. Jay has a hundred grand wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

That's true. That's true. Huh? Yeah. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Well, in a world full of millionaires, that makes me pretty, pretty far behind in my wisdom. And I'm a pre-I just.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

But you are in the world and you're contributing good. I, uh Dr. Steven Sneed, uh, am glad to just be in your midst, my good brother. And my my sister. That's all.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Yeah, I'll echo that.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

We we have a very special episode to, I mean, we say that every time, but like, but no, for real, though. We really like for real, for real, mean it. Because I'm not sure too many people out there in our listening audience really know about today's topic about esports. And and if you are clicking on this on your favorite podcasting service, you've probably seen the title, something to the effect of what does esports have to do with equity? And I'm like, ooh, say more. And so before we bring on our esteemed guest here to really dive deep into this topic, we just want to have a quick chat amongst ourselves. Like esports at equity. KD, help me out. What what what's going through your mind when you hear that those words put together in the same sentence?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Yeah, so I am definitely entering this conversation as a little bit clueless, but really curious. Like, I'm gonna be totally honest. I don't know what esports is. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Clueless was a great movie, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Oh, true, true, true. Shout out to Clueless.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

So Clueless isn't bad.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

I am also leaning into my alliteration, like continuing to say that like math means lots of things, and I can also be great at identifying words and rhyming them together. Um but yeah, I think like I'm gonna be honest, I I don't know what esports is, but I can imagine that esports is building up a lot of those like things that we want kids to be doing. So collaboration, critical thinking skills. And then I think at a like even deeper level, any conversation about equity, I think is a conversation worthy of having, one that I'm hoping our listeners are excited about hearing. And I think that for me, when I think about like how can esports support equitable opportunities for students, I really am looking at this is an opportunity to expand who belongs in school. And so I'm gonna bring us back to this, like continuing referencing that first episode where you talked about the belonging button. And the more opportunities that we have for kids to be like hitting that and saying, like, this is the space that I feel like I belong, I'm all for it. So I am so excited to hear more about what esports is so I can have like deeper gained understanding. Um, but tying it to like this greater idea of like how do we create spaces that kids want to belong and where does that fit into our greater conversation around equity? Okay. What about you, Jay?

SPEAKER_02 4:13

That's hard to follow, Jay. I don't know what you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

I'm gonna keep it, I'm gonna keep it short because I'm really excited again to to get to our guests today so we can unpack esports. But uh yeah, I I wanted to sort of go back to our first episode, as Katie just mentioned. I think that's great if you scroll your way down to our first episode with Owen Bandano from Park. That's right. Very first. We talked all about uh belonging and how to create spaces of belonging. And I think we've had a lot of conversations throughout this podcast, but not once have we entered into eSports as a space that opens up avenues of belonging for everybody, but also I think especially there's a lot of students involved that may not really find spaces or niches in a lot of the extracurriculars we're we're offering or in a lot of the uh a lot of the um academic structures that we have in place. And you know, I think it's really important, especially on this day, this very, very cold day. I am was just talking with our guests uh right before airtime. Uh I'm looking forward to going home with my six-year-old and hopping on some Mario Kart and having a conversation about uh a Mario Kart tournament that's coming up at Oakland Schools this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

And just making Oakland schools?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Yeah, just making those connections to uh to ways in which we can engage students and all of their interests in ways that are really healthy and productive for them. I can't wait to hear more from our guests about that.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Well, speaking of hearing more, I I'm I'm really interested. I will say it in full disclosure, as a parent, I've had children of mine in my household that eat my food. Um They do that. Yeah, they that's why we don't have a hundred dollars. They do tend to do that, right? Um uh participate in in some esports and and and equity, I think, is a really great tie that I'm really interested in our guests' perspective in. But but Katie, I'm with you. Like any conversation that we can have that expands the space for for kids. And my challenge for you, if you're a classroom teacher, if you're a school leader, if you're even a district leader listening to this episode in particular, is to continue to press and expand in your space what school can be. Because sometimes, like, you know, with the hustle and bustle the school year, we can unfortunately have a very narrow operation and definition of what school is or what classrooms can be. You know, here's your work, turn it in, put your name, date, and hour in the upper right-hand corner, boom, right? And a lot of people can see school as that, but what if school could be a space of something different? Where's where kids are still learning, they're still uh engaging in collaboration, they're still problem solving, but it doesn't look like writing on a piece of paper and turning a thing in. Um, I'm really just intrigued in how we expand in that space. Uh so without further ado, I want to bring in on our esteemed guest. Now, we discovered she has a connection because her mom, who is the best, by the way. So Patricia Zimney, if you are listening to this girl, I still love you, uh, is a former colleague of mine in our former district, Oak Park. Um Shout Out Oak Park. Shout out Oak Park. But for now, we're gonna shout out to Lambphere School District. Uh, particularly Lamphair High School, that is the home to our one and only guest, Ms. Stephanie Current, who is a special education teacher at Lamphere High School, but also wears many different hats. Like, I won't tell you all the things, but you know, you you could travel. She's in higher ed, uh uh she's in family transportation with her own family, picking up grandchildren here and there. We all on her business today. But she's gonna drop some major knowledge on us and our listeners about what esports has to do with equity. So let's first dive into that first word, because some of our audience might not have great familiarity with esports. What exactly is esports?

SPEAKER_04 8:11

Uh well, hi to everyone. Hey. Esports is competitive video gaming. So it is something that you can do that is either with PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch. Um, all of that is something that you can do and all the different games that you can play. So it's something that a lot of high schools are doing, colleges are doing, and introducing that world of everyone playing those video games that was always getting in trouble. Now get to do it competitively.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Aaron Powell Wait a minute, hold on. Hold on, hold a four, yellow flag. So all the video games we used to play, and we used to say, like, stop playing that, you know, video games are bad for you, it'll rot your brain out. That that's not the case anymore?

SPEAKER_04 8:52

Not as much anymore. It's now a chance to socialize, get to be with those who relate to who you are, and find a comfort, like find a spot that you want to fit in. So you're getting to do what you were always just hanging out in your bedrooms, hanging out at wherever friends' parties. I know for me, land parties used to be the thing. Now you actually get to compete against students across the state. So we compete against schools across all of Michigan, even up the upper peninsula. We've competed against schools on Mackinac Island, all virtually.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 9:26

We don't even have to leave our high school to go and play. There are some schools that their students can play from home. We are fortunate that we have a space at our high school that our kids get to hang out, goof off, we get to be ourselves as coaches and compete and play in the games.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

My mind is blown right now. Like and and hopefully you uh out there in our listening world are blown too because like like talk to me. Um, I mean, you mentioned land parties. I'm like, okay, we are of a similar generation here going back. Uh how how do we get to this evolution of playing video games is bad to bringing it into the schools? How does that discovery happen?

SPEAKER_04 10:09

So it's something that's kind of coming together to help students find out that they have a spot, they exist. Now you're not feeling so much where you're just in your own world, you're at home. There are others who do this. There's people who relate, there's people who understand, who like to compete, play games with each other. So you're able to get out of that comfort zone and actually connect with individuals. That is huge right now in the community, is because you can have athletes play. You can have students who never done a team sport, never done a club, never done anything, and they show up and you put a controller in their hand, they fit right in.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:45

I've seen kids open up who in class, I've had them, they don't talk, you don't see them engage, they don't engage with teachers, they come to esports, they come after school, and all of a sudden, it's a totally different kid. I've never known this kid before, and it's like, wait a second, this is not who I see all day. Who are you? And it's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah, I wanted to sort of unpack a little bit about what an esports uh tournament might look like or you know, a competitive space for kids. And I think that's what's really interesting in schools. I think teaching and and creating opportunities for competition is really important, but the road for competition is most generally lived in the athletic world. There's other ways to build competition, but that's the most prevalent space we have is you join an athletic team, you learn the value of competition, and you build those competitive skills that you take with you moving forward on a playing field. How do the competitive skills translate and and what does a uh an esports tournament like look like? Uh walk us through the what that experience is at the school level.

SPEAKER_04 11:53

Uh so at the high school level, we actually have two seasons. We have a fall season and a spring season. So we are just getting ready for our spring season. Uh my school, we compete in Mario Kart, Splatoon 3, and Smash. Those are the big three. There is tons of other games that you can play. But as far as that goes, we actually have scheduled game days. You get scheduled to compete against another school. The kids work on teamwork. They actually um we have JV and varsity, so that is an option. We have two different platforms in the state that you can actually sign up for and compete through. Um, there's some that can do solo tournaments. I choose to do the platform right now that has his team. So like Smash is a team of three with bench players. So you always have backup. So they're working on who's going to be the ones to play. So that is something that we strive to is to really push them to be like, all right, you guys decide who are my three.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:44

You go against each other, who's up, who's ready, who has practiced, you get the slot. But they do fight for, in a sense, of competition to have that varsity slot because I can only have a team. So that is something that exists now, and kids can in districts earn varsity letters.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Yeah. Yeah. And I imagine they're pretty competitive with the other teams, one another. Talk through like the juice, man, the vibe that flows through when you're at these tournaments that these kids are sort of immersed in what's the case.

SPEAKER_04 13:10

Um, when you go to live tournaments, the kids are all over the place. It's super crazy. I know I'm looking forward to tomorrow just to see what's going to happen. We compete from our high school, so we actually talk through a chat in how you communicate and can do videos. But when you're going through a live event, it is just hustle and bustle. You're seeing these games play, you're seeing these kids move around, they're competing, they're moving through the bracket system just like you would see with basketball, just like you would see with any other sport, you know, winners bracket, losers brackets, going for the trophies, going for the medals. You know, there are some tournaments that have belts that these kids can win. So they're going through all of this and either as a team or as an individual.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Yeah. Yeah. So I know we're still like fairly in sort of the nascent newer stages of esports, generally speaking. Um, I found a statistic, uh, not not necessarily sure if you know how accurate it is, but you know, it's a study that says that there are over 240,000 kids across the country that are engaged in in esports. Uh are you the did you bring esports into Lampphere?

SPEAKER_04 14:12

How did you come to like so five years ago I joined Lamphere and my administrator decided they wanted esports, kind of put it out there. Who wants to coach? And I've coached other different sports, different activities, and I was like, why not? Let's give it a go. And that's kind of what came to light is after coaching, because I've coached volleyball, I've coached robotics. You know, I've been in different avenues. It was like video games. I like video games. Why not? And I've been so fortunate that my district has helped put together. We actually have a room that's dedicated for esports. That is, we got our TVs, we have our Nintendos, you know, anything basically these kids have wanted. They have been more than happy to make sure that they can do it so they don't have to be from home. And that's how it started is basically I believe they went to a conference, it started. And here you go.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I think I want to make another shout out to Lamphier because that takes an investment in order to say that we don't just want to offer esports to our students, but we're gonna design our school space because again, we gotta bring the kids into the space if we want them to be doing all of those academic things. Um, and if esports is the thing that's creating the collaboration in the community, we don't want it to be away at home. We want it to be inside of the space. So I just echo, I know you've said Lamphier, but I just want to shout out that they invested not just in creating that opportunity, but physically creating a space inside of the school and designing a school with that in mind.

SPEAKER_04 15:49

And there is a lot of schools throughout the state because Michigan is one of the largest states that does have teams uh who have uh places in their building. Yeah. There are some who have to move, but there are quite a few who are able to provide a space, which is amazing that that's happening. And then a lot of students are now getting to go play and get scholarships for colleges and universities. So that is something else that's huge. And Michigan has, I believe, one of the highest rates of universities with esports teams. Wow. So kids have been able to go to conferences for us, they've been able to do all that to learn about leadership, learn about how to manage even how you play, because you hear a lot of kids too with that rage playing. We've learned and we work on that too. So they know, you know, it's one of those they hear or see Mrs. Current, give a look, they're like, hold on, we know we're not doing what we're supposed to. Because I have high expectations for them because I'm also coming from a coaching background.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

What is what is rage? Is rage so rage playing? Is that when like I used to like throw my remote across like Mario? I would, you know, Mario would go down a hole and then I throw my remote. You didn't do that, did you? Yeah. Yeah, man. I lost some Tecmo Super Bowl games, and then there goes there goes the paddle man across. Zinj. Gone. Pre-Zinj. I know I can get competitive. Give me, come on.

SPEAKER_04 17:04

All right, I was gonna say that is something that's very common that's discussed for kids to be able to play in a positive environment, but also in a safe space. Yeah. Because you also get that where we do have to watch to make sure they're not intentionally um doing things in the game to taunt. So taunting is another huge thing that is self-control and right.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 17:25

So we focus on all of that and the working together and the teamwork and all of that is huge to break what a lot of people know that you've always seen where you see those people get super worked up and super we try not to have that because we want that safe space. We want to have fun. Like my colleague and I who are in that room with those kids, we have just as much fun, and on down days we'll sit there and play Mario Kart with them. Because why not?

SPEAKER_02 17:47

Stephanie, I I first of all, thank you for your work. Thank you. Right. And and you know what, pause. We and I think we do, we try, but we as a society don't say thank you enough to teachers. First of all, we can't say it enough, but we don't say it enough. So just while you're here, thank you so much for your work and dedication to the kids.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

Oh, I love it. Um absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

I can kind of tell. I think I can kind of get that vibe. Passion's coming out. It's here.

SPEAKER_04 18:16

I love working with my kids. Like that is my thing, and knowing who they are and knowing their personality. I strive on being able to know my students.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Well, yeah, yeah. So let's go deeper into that in the knowing. Because what I'm curious about, so so thinking about a person, uh teacher, parent, you know, school administrator, whomever, that is not well versed in the video game world and might have a perception of, oh, this is a place that kids go to waste time or video games are very violent, or I hear a lot of like negative talk or inappropriate talk when they're chatting online. I don't really get that vibe that this is happening in the esports. Help me understand or help us understand what are some of the skills or competencies that you feel kids are working on through the avenue of esports.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

So some of the stuff, and actually this season, we have some new players that are coming on from our ninth graders. And I actually pair up or have my veteran players work with them before we do. They're the ones who are actually working with how to set up the game, how to get in what they're doing, because we have some who show up who've never played before. So we let them actually, so now they're working on leadership. They're taking ownership for their team, they're taking ownership for who's going to be playing, who's gonna be on what team. You know, I had one come up and they were like, no, I want them to play with us because they meshed really well. So we rely heavily on that for our students, and I like to let them take the lead. They know I have expectations, they know I have rules and guidelines, and they know I can hear if they say something they're not supposed to, I call them out, you know, because it's not allowed in our room. Taunting is not allowed. Any of that is off the table because you can actually in the esports world get forfeit of your game. So if you're caught doing that too often, penalty box, right? Well, you could actually lose your game because you're only allowed in the league that we're in two forfeits a season. So if all of a sudden you got one of those because you got in trouble, you're out of game.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

So that is something that's like real-time accountability built into that system. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 20:16

You know, and then coaches are accountable because we watch the chats, we watch all of that in communication. There are some teams who stream. So you can actually, as a parent, go on and watch your students play from home because it sometimes it is hard to come up to the school to see it because of how the setups are, and you can see how the interactions are because you can also see what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

So so help me now now I'm hearing the things at the table and and I and I think I'm making the connections to equity, but but bring that home for for the audience. What what's that explicit connection between esports and equity? Where do you see those two things tying in tightly together?

SPEAKER_04 20:55

So for me, it's the inclusion. I'm including students who normally would not have been on a team, who would not have been in an activity, uh, who would not have gone like go to tryouts for say basketball or an activity. I get a lot of students who, yes, do activities, do sports, but I get those individuals who don't feel like they have a spot and all of a sudden they have someplace they can be themselves. They get to be their goofy selves, they get to be all nerdy, you know, like because we get into all those conversations, all different stuff. You know, we talk about Pokemon, we talk about the magic, you know, we talk about Lorcana, all these different games that are going on that are not video games. And they see teachers and coaches doing the same thing. So that right there to me is where equity c equity kind of cuts in because it's that inclusion. You've now opened up a whole table for a group that didn't have somewhere to go.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

That's the phrase for the episode, right there. You've opened up a whole table. We gotta quote that somewhere in the promotion for the for this episode. Uh, because for me, I think about like again, I might push. To teachers and school leaders is to expand the beyond of what we think school is and what it could be. I mean, of course, basketball and football are gonna predominate a lot of what's in the the sports uh ecosphere, depending upon how you're cut, maybe even hockey or or soccer, football, uh or non-American football, however whatever we're calling that in 2026. Um, but a lot of that's taken out the energy. But here's a space, I love how you said that. Like, yeah, here's a space that widens that that that that table of who gets to be at this table of I'm on a team, I have pride in my work. Um tell me about the range of student emotions as they're progressing through their journey in esports. What is that progression of how they feel about like themselves when they're in esports?

SPEAKER_04 22:54

I have seen students come out of their shells. Wow. You know, that is the biggest thing right there is they come in, they're quiet, they leave typically by their senior year. They're now my leaders. They're my ones who are teaching, who are training and helping others, but they're now talking, they're now laughing, they're loud. I have a few who get very loud. And I love it. But when competitions happen, they're talking to each other. You know, that's a huge growth right there. A lot of them will come in, they'll compete, say Mario Kart. And it's a team of four, and we encourage talking. We want them to communicate who's ahead, who's not, what, where are you at? What are you sending? And they'll start where they're super quiet. And then all of a sudden, by the time we're hitting the end of the season or the end of the you know, second season, that's all you hear is them talking. You hear them loud, you hear them back and forth. And next thing you know, they're winning more matches because they're talking.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Yeah, I'm really interested in like what you're seeing as some of those transferable skills. Like I've heard you talk a lot about like how you see how it transpires in the club, but I'm wondering how you see them opening up, the teamwork, the leadership they're exhibiting, how that's translating back into like the academic classrooms. And if you can talk a little bit about what you've seen happen with students in that space.

SPEAKER_04 24:09

So when I see them out in the halls, I now see them actually in groups. I have a couple students who are super quiet in class who now have seen a couple people they know from esports in their room, they go and talk. They're no longer just sitting by themselves. They're no longer just a loner. They now are, oh, well, we do stuff. I can talk to you. Or I go and see that, or I'm starting to see they talk to their teacher more. So there's a few more, even that, because sometimes you don't they don't want to talk to teachers. So now they're starting to do that more and open up, or they're now joining other activities. So we also partner. A lot of our kids are in marching band in the fall and compete in esports and it works with the coaches. I have a lot now who are in robotics and come to us first, then go to that. You know, we have some who will come mid-season from wrestling.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 24:57

All those different stuff. And the fact that they can join mid-season, but you see them in their classes now interacting with those, you would never have seen before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Yeah, I I think that's something that's really interesting. I saw a documentary, it was uh within the last year, one of those HBO sports documentaries that was doing a deep dive, uh 60 minute style into esports. And I think that was really interesting was it broke down these like breakfast club mentalities, like the athletes hang with the athletes, and you know, and like the breakfast club, right? They where it brings people together and it really focused on how there was like a star quarterback that also was on the esports team. There was a student who did not feel any sense of belonging that uh I think that was a uh uh was was an amputee and couldn't pr you know participate in athlete. They all came together on this esports team and they were walking around as as friends and and equals within the school. And I think that's something that is really important and it's an important message to deliver is we're creating other spaces for all types of students across the spectrum to feel as if they can be a part of a team and see themselves together. My question for you is I'm I'm curious as to how, in order to drive this, you know, this this view that we're trying to get everybody to sort of feel the sense of belonging, at what how much are the parents playing a role in this? And I'm wondering how you might like communicate with parents who might feel a little, well, you know, a lot of screen time in video games versus like parents who might be, I think this is great, I they're passionate about it, and I want them to be a part of this. How do you find the parents are res receptive and responsive to esports?

SPEAKER_04 26:44

I have been very, very fortunate to have a amazing parent support. So we've had parents actually provide snacks and drinks and come up and all that stuff for our kids. Yeah. We've had parents come up to us because, you know, and I'll use one example. I had a student who graduated last year. This was his first ever structured activity in sport where he got to do something his siblings have always done. So the support I get from parents is amazing. Yes, I don't hear from every single parent. Sure. That's normal. But when I am, they're getting our weekly emails. They know the schedule. They're reaching out to me to keep me updated if something's going on, or like, hey, are you guys meeting? If not, so-and-so can't meet right now. They keep me posted. So I feel very fortunate that I've been able to get to the parent connection and have such a good like rapport. And most of them, if they're asking about the screen time, we explain it's that structure. We're not just letting them do whatever. They don't get to come in here and play whatever they want. They're coming in here to practice. They're coming here to play a specific game, work together, and then that's it. Now what they do, you know, for games, a lot of them go home and play. But we tell them and let them know that there's structure, there's practice, there's consistency, and we're not just getting to do whatever they want to do.

SPEAKER_02 27:57

So, Stephanie, throughout your your chat with us here at the table, um I've heard like so many benefits for for kids. I've heard they're working to be better leaders. I've heard that they're working to improve their own emotional regulation in terms of how they deal with defeat. Uh, they're working on cooperation. Uh and I'm certain to a degree they're working on strategy and and problem solving. So I hear so many benefits for kids. I want to hard switch gears now and talk about the benefits for the adults for you. And and I want to say that in the context of um, you know, I'm just gonna name the thing. Uh a lot of people, a lot of adults find that in today's climate, teaching is very hard. And teaching is is very hard. It's a challenging uh place. And there are some teachers that can feel very disillusioned about their time in the classroom and in time in schools and and and get in a little bit of a funk here about like where we are as a profession. What is participation and leading this do for you? What does this do for your your teacher's soul? Because because I hear, I hear the energy and the passion. What is this doing for you?

SPEAKER_04 29:12

I love it. The for me, getting to watch my students go from ninth grade to 12th grade is my favorite thing. I get them when they're super quiet. And this is something because as a special educator, I hold IEPs and everything. By the time they're a senior, I now have conversations. I know life plans, I know who they are, I know what they're doing. We can just talk as if we're friends. Even though they know I'm their teacher, we have conversations like if we were just to go have coffee. And they're coming to me, they're talking to me about what's going on, letting me know we're talking about plans. You know, to me, that is where the joy is getting to know my students. You know, once you are in my classroom, you become one of my kids. They all know I call them kiddos. They're my kids. That's just who they are. And I love it. I wouldn't trade a thing. I know I'm a high school teacher through and through because of that, because I also can be myself and show my personality. Like they all know I'm a Disney adult. They all know. They know how to get me on a tangent. There's some days I let them, and I'm okay with that. That's okay. But I can bring it in.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

Do you do you bust out in Disney tunes?

SPEAKER_04 30:14

Oh, I can if I want.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

I have all the yeah, I got I gotta go to hard classroom. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 30:19

The kids all know, same with that. You know, they're already asking if I'm for Spirit Week dressing up as one of my Disney characters or costumes and all that stuff. So but that's what I enjoy is they know who I am and they have a piece of who I am with them as well. So then now as they go on, they're still growing. I still hear from some. Makes my day. I know a lot of my colleagues who do, especially in our department. We're very fortunate. A lot of kids come back and connect with us or ask questions or reach out. So we still get to hear what they're doing or we run into them.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

That is amazing. I we got one more question for you uh before we transition to our hot topic. So I'm a teacher, school leader, maybe a parent listening to this episode. Man, it sounds really cool. How do I get started?

SPEAKER_04 31:02

A lot of times in most districts, so like for us, the students will see stuff posted. They can go to their athletic directors, they can go to their school and find out what's going on. Just about every school in the state has a team that can be looked up or found and then connected. But a lot are now going through the athletic directors and getting posted and shared, or going through social media and looking up the school's team. You know, we even we are on Instagram and different stuff, and you can go pull up and see what's going on. That is one of the biggest things is just listen to your school announcements, see the postings, and know what's available.

SPEAKER_02 31:35

Get started. You heard it here first here, but I gotta, I'm gonna start off, I'm gonna kick off our hot topic. Go uh here. Uh and for our listening audience, hopefully you're real familiar with this is the time where each of us is gonna take really quick what what's a hot, spicy take on today's take. And I love this uh uh angle of inclusion and equity. So my hot take is we got to stop talking about equity. We got to start doing the things. Because I'm tired of the talk sometimes. I'm like, okay, the think piece, you know, the the thing, like, yeah, uh-huh. You had me at hello. What can I do? Yeah. Do an esports team. Yeah. You you want to you really want to be about equity? Like, you know, again, come come to workshops at Oaks and Schools. Join our test. We we would love to have you, but don't just let it stop at the learning, like for the adults. Go and go do something different that you weren't doing before. I think every school should have uh an esports team. So if you if you listening are about that diversity, equity, and inclusion, stop talking about it and start doing it. Equity and esports is one way, of many ways that you could do it. So that's my hot take.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

Jay, what about you? I'm uh just to build off that, if we're going to uh how cool would it be if every one of our schools or districts had an esports team in the next two to three you know years, if we really built this up. But in order to do that, it takes funding and it takes resources that we need to invest in. And so Jay, you said you didn't have a million dollars. No, I don't, but you did say that. No, but our guest also did shout out Disney. And if Disney wants to drop in a sponsorship here, I am I'm happy to be happy to become the man with a hundred grand if Disney's gonna help fund our esports across the uh across the county. So yeah, maybe there might my hot tech just evolved into Disney spots. Disney esports bring esports across Michigan. But uh yeah, no, I really would like if we value, you know, collaboration and problem solving, communication, um, competition, and all of the good things that come from putting students in in spaces where they're competing with one another, um, then I think we have to really look at like multifaceted diverse ways in which we can fund esports. I do know that some of esports is funded through athletic departments and athletic directors are doing a lot of work across the country and here in Michigan to bring esports in. I think if we partnered with outside resources and technological companies, there's a lot of different areas within STEM and robotics that we can bring together all sorts of resources to reach our goal of making sure that everybody who wants an esports team in Oakland County in the next two to three years, I think there's probably resources out there to make it happen if we just raise people's awareness about what this is. And hopefully this episode is doing that. If you're listening to this and esports was just either not on your radar or now it's like you've heard something about it, let's raise our awareness about the opportunities it can provide for all students to get in a competitive space uh with one another.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

Yeah, I mean, I started this episode saying, like, I really feel like I'm kind of clueless, but really curious about where this conversation is going to lead us. And I think the more I heard from you, Stephanie, the more questions and considerations, you know, Stephen and Jay, that you uplifted, it really has me thinking that esports isn't about video games. It's about schools that were ready to create structures and belonging for students based on what they were interested in. But it also is about providing kids an opportunity to shine who don't usually get to, right? We elevate ideas of like the star athlete and the A plus student. And like this gives kids an opportunity and a place to shine that they might not have come to school always feeling. Um, and so I don't know what my hot take connected to yes, esports all make sure we can fund it, but it's really so much more than video games. Um and so I guess my hot take is really pushing teachers, right? Bringing it back to them is saying, how can you create within what is in your control an opportunity for students who don't shine in your classroom to be able to shine? What is something? Is it through your assessment practices, your grading practices, the thing, the homework that you give? How can you find a student who isn't shining and make that possible for them?

SPEAKER_02 36:18

Wow. We're gonna leave our last hot take to our esteemed guest again, once again, uh Stephanie Current, special education teacher at Lamphere High School. Madam, what say you? What's your hot take?

SPEAKER_04 36:30

My biggest thing is just try it. Just try something new. Yes, try a new activity. Like we get students for esports who have no clue. Yeah. I'm happy if they show up for one season because now they just stepped out of their comfort and did something they would not have done before.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:46

Wow. Yes. And on that, doing something we've never done before. Well, we we do this every time. We end our show uh with Brother Jay. Brother Jay, take us out.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Yes, all right. Well, thank you. That's a uh that's gonna be a wrap for today. I know I'm looking forward on this Friday to going home and uh firing up some Mario Kart with my kids. I think it's gonna be a little extra special tonight. I'm gonna have a little different context as we uh as as we play uh on the couch. Huge, huge thank you and shout out to Stephanie Current for the work that you're doing and thank you for joining us today. Uh and all of you for spending this time with us. We hope you found something here to inspire your own practice, spark new ideas for your classroom or school community. And if this episode did that, please start this conversation in your uh school communities. We hope you'll join us next time as we continue to elevate topics and voices that matter to you. In the meantime, don't forget to follow or subscribe to Teaching Tomorrow. Smash the like ever you get your podcast. Leave us a rating or comment. It helps other educators find these conversations. And if you liked what you heard, share this episode with a colleague who could use a little inspiration in the year ahead. Until next time, keep teaching, keep learning, and keep building the tomorrow your students can believe in because here at Teaching Tomorrow, we believe in you and esports. And esports. All right. Bye bye.