Lessons Learned from Space Invaders

Christmas 1980--
The greatest gift of all time (from the eyes of this 4th grader)--
Our uncle purchased an Atari 2600 for my sister and me!


An Atari 2600 was probably the first, successful home, video game console.  Considering this was a time when our family still had a black and white television, no cable, and only one corded phone in the house, having an Atari was cutting edge for the day and for our family.  I remember thinking my uncle was the coolest guy-ever.  To this day when I think of video games, my mind goes to classics like Pitfall, Pac Man, Combat, Donkey Kong, and...Space Invaders.

The concept of Space Invaders was pretty simple.  Alien "invaders" gradually slipped towards the ground where the player was equipped with one "gun" that was controlled by a joystick and one button to shoot bullets at the invaders.  The player moved the gun back and forth with the plan to shoot as many invaders as possible.  As you moved along in levels, the invaders approached the ground faster and faster.  The goal, of course, was to shoot as many invaders as possible.

I don't recall how we learned this trick, but we did.  (Remember, this was long before websites that might share tricks on how to win at video games.)  Somehow we learned that holding down the game reset switch while turning the on the console resulted in two shots being fired at once during the game.  In essence you could shoot down twice as many invaders and double your score.  I can't belive I found this link, but check out this youtube clip to show how Space Invaders worked without and with the reset trick.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQJnZZ1bRic

Thinking about how to improve at Space Invaders got me thinking about how we improve at anything else.  Let's face it, there are no magic tricks or reset buttons to get better at our jobs or even our hobbies.  How do musicians get better?  While we know there are a few documented cases of absolute musical gifts, the majority of musicians get better by practice and determination.  Simply put, they practice more.  I suppose we could say the same thing about athletes?  How do athletes become Olympic athletes?  They practice more.

One of the great gifts I get as a principal is to have students share their work with me.  Kids will share their tests, homework, or projects with me, and I love to see the smiles on their faces.  I am fond of saying back to our students, "How did you do so well?"  When they look at me a little perplexed, I share, "Well, you either got better by accident or hard work!  Which do you suppose helped you?"  The students always reply, "Hard work, Mr. Ascher!"

The most successful students (and teachers) I've ever worked with understand this to their core.  In other words, they understand that to get better at anything they must work hard and smart.  They are not successful by accident.  They intentionally put in the time to sharpen skills, to learn new strategies, to push themselves to the next level, to take risks.  And...they don't wait to be challenged.  They intrinsically challenge themselves.

The key seems to be to find balance in our lives.  I worry when I see teachers regularly at school at 8:00 or 9:00 PM or when I see students who are overscheduled.  I know I'm guilty of justifying these behaviors even for myself andmy family.  At the same time, I worry when I realize students might not be doing anything academic outside of school.  Our students are supported by amazing families, but I know we have students who are not reading at home or who are not practicing their math facts. 

As much as I wish I could find a "Space Invaders reset button trick" for our teachers or for our students, I know better.  In the end, I encourage all of us to continue to work together to find balance so all of our students can be successful.