Like many other students, senior Nathan Issacs likes playing the popular computer game Slope in class to keep him occupied when he has nothing else to do.
“I like playing Slope because of its simplicity and its addictive nature,” Issacs said.
The computer game requires players to use the arrow keys on a keyboard to move a ball around a three-dimensional course made of blocks. If a player hits the sides of the course, the ball is destroyed and the player has to start over.
Students say the game can offer welcome relief during the school day and that it can be hard to put down.
“I started playing [Slope] because it was easy, and there weren’t many rules or tricks to learn, and then I kept playing because it was so addicting,” junior Abby Ludwig said.
While Slope is all the rage with students, many teachers seem to feel differently about it.
“I notice a lot of students playing it right when class starts, and they’re like, ‘I’m almost done! I’m almost done!’ because they started playing it in the five-minute break before class,” English teacher Nikel Bussolati said. “I get that they want to finish the game, but have they tried not starting a game right before class when they know their teacher is going to want their attention?”
Bussolati, who is also working as an administrative intern this year, noted that playing Slope in class hasn’t come up in administrative meetings but feels that could change if teachers become frustrated enough to submit referrals.
Keeping students focused on their work is always a difficult task for teachers, especially since students frequently work on their school-issued laptops. Slope presents the additional challenge that it can be played without being blocked by the school’s internet filter. From a teacher’s perspective, students appear to be using their keyboard to work on assignments and not to play a game.
“One of the reasons I play Slope is that most games are blocked by the server, but Slope is not, so it’s really easy to play,” senior Avery Ellis said.
Students maintain that the game is less a distraction and more a reward for finishing their work early.
“I usually just play [Slope] in class when we have time to work on assignments and I’ve finished or have nothing to do. The game is so fast paced, so it helps me when I’m bored,” senior Lizzy Maze said.
Some teachers believe, though, that students must learn to resist the temptation to play video games or check their phones constantly when they’re bored or have a moment of downtime.
“I think so many of us coming back from the pandemic have lost any sort of normalcy of when to use our phones or computers, so it feels like being able to have a moment of quiet without filling it with something is meaningful,” social studies teacher Aaron Wark said.
Like all trends and fads, the game Slope may fade away within a few more weeks, but teachers can rest assured that in its place will come be the next digital trend.
