St. Rita Catholic School students gather for eSports coaching and game play at the school. Front row, from left, Pedro Rios, Matthew Pacione, Eli McKneely, and Emilio Rodriguez. Back row from left, Duncan Actkinson, Lucas Wood, Bradley Chu, and Jake Jackson. (Amy White/The Texas Catholic)
By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
Gaming isn’t what it used to be—and that’s a good thing, said Leanne Knight of St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas. What once may have been a solitary activity is now a social, strategic learning opportunity.
Knight, who teaches a gaming class at St. Rita, serves as the instructional technology specialist at the school. In this role, she works with students and teachers to help them utilize technology in more innovative and research-based ways.
“In the world we’re in, we have to be able to work with technology or without technology,” Knight said. “Both ways are extremely important.”
To teach students about technology and innovation, Knight offers a digital skills class for fifth and sixth grade students and an innovation lab for seventh and eighth grade students.
Together, these classes cover technology basics, the programming language of Python, and the utilization of an “engineering process” to solve problems, among other topics.
Knight also teaches a gaming class. The class, which is an elective for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, includes opportunities for students to play Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., and Wii Sports, among other popular games.
“We are extremely picky about the games the students use,” Knight said, adding that the class does not include any games that would be contrary to the school’s Catholic identity. “We’ve truly tried to keep it with things that they can work together with, collaborate with each other—and, to be honest, have fun.”
Though not a traditional subject, gaming offers a variety of important, character-building lessons for students, Knight said. For example, students can learn cooperation and problem solving.
“This is not the gaming that I grew up with. This isn’t Donkey Kong, where you’re just one person trying to save the princess,” Knight said. “They’re working together to get through different areas so that they can solve that issue… You have to be able to work with the people next to you.”
Knight said gaming also teaches students how to respond to setbacks.
“Gaming actually models failure and resilience,” she said. “There are very few things in life where you’re going to fail, learn from those mistakes, and then feel resilient; and gaming actually teaches it.”
Importantly, the gaming class also encourages self-regulation—including regulation of emotions and of time spent in front of a screen.
“They learn the healthy habits of taking care of yourself,” Knight said. “If I was playing football, would I play football 12 hours straight in a day? Absolutely not, because that would be unhealthy. Same thing with gaming.”
Embracing eSports
Some students in Knight’s gaming class are also in her eSports extracurricular. These students receive online coaching and compete in online chess and Super Smash Bros. matches against students from other schools. These matches take place through the Vanta League.
“I feel so lucky to have this opportunity for my son and our school,” said Erin Pacione, parent of sixth grade student Matthew Pacione. “[Knight] guides the students to demonstrate good sportsmanship and positive interactions without dousing their enthusiasm for the game. She helps the students to understand the online coaching they receive in the game and provides many opportunities for the students to practice and hone these skills.”
Several of St. Rita’s eSports students have already met with substantial success.
Lucas Wood, an eighth-grade student on the St. Rita’s eSports team, earned first place in the Vanta National Middle School Chess Esports League in the Central Time Zone in December 2023. Other St. Rita students took fifth and sixth place.
Wood—who also plays football and basketball at St. Rita—says that the online chess he plays requires strategy and skill, just as his other competitive pursuits do.
“Chess forces you to calculate multiple moves ahead and strategize, which can also apply to sports, planning ahead, and making the right decision,” Wood said, adding, “If you don’t know what your opponent is trying to do with his moves, you have lost.”
For Wood, as for many other students, the St. Rita eSports team is an opportunity to gather with like-minded gamers, to learn together, and to have fun.
“ESports is beneficial to students my age,” he said, “because it allows people across the country to connect through something we love.”
