This is kinda random but it's a topic we all shoud talk about. When I was growing up, I was always told video games were bad for you and they do harm for your brain. This one time when I was in the 6th Grade, my class took Violin lessons. The guy who taught us was an absolute cranky old man! After he tried teaching us to do this one song, he got fed up and asked us "how many of you kids play video games?!" and all the guys and 1  girl raised their hand. And he says "Isn't funny how the people who play video games are the most awful learners in my class!? It's not good for you. Those things just rots your brains. I have kids of my own who plays those damn games for 6 hours and it makes me want to smash their tv's. Don't play video games!" and from that point on until I was in my teens I always thought Video Games was bad for me. As of right now I believe Video Games are good for our brains because we use them and it's like training them. Science proves Video Games are actually good and provide healthy benefits for our heads. I forgot who that Violin teacher was, but I know exactly how he looks like.  I wish someday I run into him again and I'll tell him how wrong he was and now I'm going into univeristy and I still been playing games ever since he taught me in that class. This is a statement/story I wanted to share.  It would be nice to read similar stories of yours! 

I'm currently in my 5th year studying in a university in order to become a teacher. During my time here I have personally made use of video games in the lessons I have held during my teacher training and I genuinely believe video games can be one of the most useful tools in teaching.

I have gotten great results from the lessons where I used video games in some form as teaching tools, so saying video games are bad for you is a gross generalization in my opinion. The students have also responded very positively to these lessons.

However, the one thing that one needs to keep in mind as a teacher is that even if video games can be useful in teaching and learning, it doesn't work with every student. Everyone learns in different ways, and the only way to find out the ones that work with each group of students is to simply try as many different methods as you can until you find the ones that work.

Sorry, went on a bit of a tangent there. I could write much more about the topic, but I don't want to give you an essay to read here.

It had nothing to do with him being a teacher but rather being a "cranky old man". I had one teacher that told us that we watched too many japanese cartoons on TV (it was in the late 80's, first 90's, when Dragon Ball first aired here) and that it wasn't good for us.

Yep, the world changes only to remain the same thing.

Videogames, TV, Rock'n'Roll, ... There will always be something else to blame.

Thankfully, I never had to deal with people who told me that video games are bad and crap like that.

cant be worse than watching tv.
Brain activity is usually lower when watching tv than when your sleeping (so Ive heard).

also screw people saying what you can and cant do in your free time. I mean its just video games their harmless (imo).

That happened to me once in like 3rd grade... but it was probably because I was playing during class

I was about to beat the Pokemon League in Sapphire, that was more important than grade 3 math!

When I was in elemntary, I was in this after school program, and every Friday, we were allowed to bring on GBAs, and everyone played nothing but Pokèmon, Fire Emblem, and Kirby.

Then this grumpy Asian guy came along and helped take over the after school program, and he pretty much banned Game Boys, worst day of my life. T_T

First it was TV, then it was video games, now it's smart phones. We just love rotting our brains, apparently. XD