In the wake of the sub-prime mortgage disasters in the US, the crashing of stock markets around the world, and the already upon us, I mean, approaching recession, it’s refreshing to know that those kooky free market, pull yourself up from your bootstraps, capitalists over at Minyanville are launching their very own virtual world for children. Did I say refreshing? I meant terrifying.
Partnered with Kaboose, a family themed network of sites, the new vw is called MinyanLand and it’s set to teach kids all about the wonders of fiscal responsibility. As their About page so clearly lays out:
We created MinyanLand as a platform to entertain and educate a young generation so they understand the concept of a market and the basics of economics and finance on a real world level.
To help this young generation learn about this wonderful workings of the stock-market are two cute (and presumably cuddly) mascots: “Hoofy” the Bull and “Boo” the Bear (get it?)
In that spirit of free-market magnanimity, MinyanLand will be completely sponsor-supported and free for all, because:
Our mission is to help address the gap between classes created in part by the financial illiteracy of many in our country, if not the world.
To frame class divides as being caused by the “financial illiteracy” of one group while not looking at other factors (race, gender, language, etc) that have created and maintain our current class system is perpetuation of the classic free-market doctrine of meritocracy. When this doctrine is being wrapped up in the guise of a cartoon world aimed at kids, it is a cause for real concern.
Added to this is MinyanLand’s worrying focus on encouraging “such behavior as charitable giving” instead of empowering the ‘young generation’ to actually work to change the system and remove the need for charitable giving.
Despite this grumbling, please be aware that I’m all for teaching kids about financial responsibility. That’s the argument put forth by many ‘play mini games for coins and buy stuff’ world creators. There is merit in that, but I think these worlds need to be balanced with equitable social responsibility elements as well.
From what I see, this isn’t going to happen in MinyanLand. Although, according to the Virtual Worlds News post, where I learned about MinyanLand, the first 50,000 registrants will receive a $50,000 MinyanMoney handout, bonus.
I wonder if the MinyanLand creators see the irony of creating an upper class of residents before even going into beta? Probably not.
As you say in your post, you’re not against kids learning the value of money or, indeed, “financial intelligence” – neither am I and I doubt anybody would object to that sort of mission.
But what IS highly objectionable and entirely irresponsible is the notion of financial illiteracy.
This is suggestive of the notion that financial circumstances are a matter of “choice” and “knowledge” (AKA the myth of agency and bootstrap conservatism). This is the very thing that conservative financial strategists are using to spin the sub prime disaster. In order to shift the blame away from an UNREGULATED MARKET (something the republicans are wholly responsible for) full of unscrupulous lenders, the republicans are now pointing the finger at the disadvantaged people who bought into a LIE they were sold by those so-called legitimate brokers. Who is to blame here? The consumer? Those people were offered something that was (at that time) legal and popular. Are they illiterate or were they duped.
THEY WERE DUPED. The market must be regulated. Nuff said.
This notion is actively employed to conceal the sources of social inequity (many of which are CREATED by those holders of power who exploit others for their gain) that shape the so-called options and choices “available” to “everyone.” Social conditions such as:
1. TIME: who has it? Time is a privilege. Some people have to work more hours than others simply to make ends meet. If those people are further disenfranchised by additional financial burden, they may find themselves in a dangerous work schedule that reduces their off hours merely to sleeping and eating. Time off/free time/extra time do not exist for those whose education, background, abilities or experience do not put them in a position to apply (or be considered) for higher earning positions. Furthermore, they may not be able to afford (either time or financially) to take additional training or qualification to change their circumstances. Sound dire? That’s REALITY for a lot of people – whether we wish to acknowledge that or not.
2. Race: racism is real. It shapes people’s choices in ways they don’t necessarily have control over.
3. Social class: classism is very real. Social class defines the “codes” you understand – and the codes you convey to others about where you’re from, what you’ve got and who you know. Class can define us in ways we have no control over.
4. Education. The quality and depth of your education will play a role in the kinds of opportunities available to you – regardless of whether you were an outstanding student. A low achieving student whose mom and dad paid for them to go to a fancy credentialed school will be treated more favourably than an oustanding student who attended a public institution. Why? Because we don’t list our grades on a resume – only the name of the institution we attended. That’s a fact. Certainly, advanced degrees speak for themselves. But where you went says something too. And it’s a class signifier.
5. Health: ability/disability, mental health, physical health, learning issues, proximity to resources, proximity to social programs, etc.
6. The Starting Line: Where you start out: material, environmental (physical and emotional) stability DO contribute to one’s sense of worth and options in life. Coming from a background of disenfranchisement doesn’t contribute to expectations of success. Furthermore, enabling such feelings requires far more faith, hope and help than those who feel entitled to success (because it surrounded them from birth).
7. Location
Access to jobs, training, healthcare, childcare, affordable housing and, especially, transportation shape opportunities. Transportation – and the money to pay for it is a big one. Those who cannot afford the cost of a car or the insurance are not in a position to “commute” to a better job in order to afford the lower cost housing away from the trendy (expensive) urban centre. similarly, those who don’t have cars must live in places that provide solid public transit system – these places are generally more costly to live in (including under serviced neighbourhoods) than areas outside the urban centre.
8. Politics: it’s a fact that you’re just not going to get very far in a capitalist conservative professional world if you don’t buy in to the values and politics that inform the corporate world. Corporations function as psychopaths. The corporate world is very much one of survival of the meanest social Darwinism. Somebody who finds these practices objectionable and sociopathic is NOT going to either take part in or succeed in that world. Ergo, if you find conservative politics repellent – if the values of conservative denigrate your very identity, social class and way of life, you will not find yourself with the same kind of earning potential as those who take part in that world.
Winston, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Treat yourself with a tall glass of victory gin. And get back to work.
Closer to the surface of the problem, I think it’s pitiful that young boys and girls coming out of high school in USA have no idea what their credit score is, and what “economy” is, let alone how it works.
Minyanland is a game… it doesn’t aim to replace classes and lectures that the kids in this country need. It aims to make the world of finance a little less foreign to soon-to-be adults that will depend on it, and shape it with their actions.
Interesting view, Michal, but I don’t think the problem is teens knowing or not knowing their credit rating out of high school, but that teens are being targeted for credit cards in the first place.
I don’t think anyone talked about MinyanLand replacing classes or lectures on finance. It is a game but that doesn’t mean it won’t be an effective teacher (games have been used to teach for centuries.) I’m just concerned about what the game will and will not teach. Considering who is behind the game, I think we can expect some very pro free market capitalist bias throughout the game. The same sort of ideology that has much of the world’s markets heading toward a recession. The stock market is a very big casino and dressing it up with cartoon characters for kids won’t change that.
If you plan to live in this country, make average pay and still own a car and a house – the sooner you are aware of how credit score works the better. Credit card should probably one of the first things you get when you turn 18 – and your school, parents, or games should have thought you how to use it.
It seems to me that you condemn the entire game because you think it might (in the future) teach some aspects of the financial world that you don’t agree with. So what’s the alternative? Get a game going that teaches different market models?
Until those alternatives are available, I’m glad a 9-year old can learn about how money world he or she lives in works.
I couldn’t agree with you more about the importance of kids having a sound knowledge of financial matters like credit score, Michal. As I said in my post, I am in favour of giving young people all the financial knowledge we have to offer.
It’s not so much what MinyanLand will be teaching but what it won’t be teaching that worries me. The focus on charitable giving without any mention of working toward social improvement is one example that I mention in my post.
Charitable giving is an admirable thing, but working to create social change that will remove the need for charity must also be a piece of the puzzle if we are really going to move beyond the class divides that MinyanLand hopes to address. I see no mention of that in any of the MinyanLand documents and that worries me. Including that in the game could be one way that MinyanLand could also be one of those alternatives you mention in your comment. That would definitely open their player base to a wider audience, which is something I’m sure the makers of MinyanLand are concerned with given how saturated the children’s vw market has become in the past six months.
Thanks for your comment. I’m sure the makers of MinyanLand would be happy to know they have such a strong defender of their new virtual world among their fans. I look forward to seeing you in game.
Hi Liam,
After having spent a good chunk of this past weekend exploring the site and learning about its strengths and weaknesses, I decided to give it a go with my fourth graders, only to discover it won’t load completely on all of our lab machines at once. 🙁 So, I had to scrub the lesson. Students were very interested when I showed them a brief demo however, and it is their reaction that I’d like to base my reply.
I teach kids in Kindergarten through Grade 4 (ages 5-9, typically). Webkinz and Club Penguin and similar sites are immensely popular here and when I explained the site to them using those sites as analogies, well, you can guess the response – they were very excited to see what it all was about.
As an educator, I am looking for creative ways to teach my students about (among other things) money, markets, consumerism, ethics, social skills, Internet safety, social responsibility and community. I feel Minyanland does most of that, or more correctly, provides *ME* with an environment in which I can *TEACH* these things, in authentic ways, engaging kids in the process. On that basis, the site has value to me (assuming I can get it to load in my lab – we’re reaching out to their tech support people). It’s free, it’s engaging, it gives me an environment I can use for my own purposes, and it’s safe. What more could we ask for?
That said, the site’s focus on money and material things is somewhat troubling, especially since a $50,000 initial allowance (and a condo!) portrays an unrealistic view of the real world. Personally, I’d rather have people start close to zero, then work their way up, literally, by performing tasks or providing services (including service to the community) that earns them wealth and recognition.
To be sure, this is a snazzy 2D web application attempting to educate young students about financial concepts and the value of money, and I think it does that well (and for free). It’s not fair in my opinion to expect much more from it, after all, it’s not a commercially-designed software package selling for $$$. It’s unfortunate that you found some of the language on the site bothersome, though I certainly understand where you are coming from. Excessive commercialism on this side of the pond has earned us a well-deserved reputation, sadly, for being overly concerned with material things, and ethnocentricity is plainly evident.
All that aside, I remain convinced I can use this site to accomplish educational objectives in my classroom, as long as I look at it as a blank canvas, a medium, an environment to teach maths, finance, and other subjects. As a standalone activity, undirected, it could turn into something worse, wherein kids are “learning” that they should be working in pursuit of financial wealth, as opposed to spiritual or community wealth. But those are issues far, far beyond the scope of a site like Minyanland. Those are issues for us to address as educators in the classroom.
Thanks for listening, and for commenting!
-kj-
Kevin, that’s fantastic that you actually used Minyanland with your kids in class. I’d really like to know more on how that went – perhaps it’s something you could share in RezEd?
I agree that some form of directed activity is the best way to get genuine learning out of a space like Minyanland. It does have elements that can provide valuable learning opportunities. I’m hopeful that these will be balanced with other financial learning elements as the site evolves.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a thoughtful comment.