Monopoly has a Debit Machine?

It wasn’t a dramatic discovery, but a disappointing one. Seeing a rudimentary debit system in Monopoly to assist kids by removing the almost desperately basic math required.

This has dug under my skin as I see more young workers unable to mentally compute basic change when I order a friggin coffee. Take $3.68 (because coffee is stupidly over priced) from $5.00 and what do you get? Going back in time several years to when I was bar tending, (yes, I'm getting old) if I was unable to make snap mental calculations I’d be chased from the establishment. When did reliance on remedial technology so completely destroy our simple educated abilities? I try to refrain for complaining too much, but things like Monopoly were fantastic opportunities to learn simple math calculations, and swindle the poor suckers who weren’t quick enough. 

Is it really monopoly’s fault? They only wish to make the game more universally approachable. It has debit cards now instead of money! Plug your card in each side, enter the amount and it automatically calculates for both players! AAHHHH!!!

Alright, I’m calming down now. I hold that perhaps it’s not the games fault, but societies for dumbing down (I said it) our activities to remove simple yet elegant forms of mental development. You didn’t feel like you were learning when you played games, but suddenly you understood math and probability, cooperation and deal making, we need this to return.

What comes to my mind in counter to this point is that the new generation is learning about technology, using the internet and digital communications. I value this development but I can’t excuse basic life skills because someday it will all be digital. You may pay for everything with a debit card in the future and never use cash, but it’s deeper than math, it goes into problem solving. Faced with numbers, the answer to the problem is not a plastic card! What I don’t want to happen is a lack of mental development because it can be replaced with technology, this inevitably will stunt mental growth. No, I’m not blowing this out of proportion. 

When it comes to having kids in some distant future where I’m mentally capable of supporting such delinquents, I will be striving to incorporate some basic learning into activities. I can’t be the only one blown away by what I see is a dramatic downgrading of simple education and the quality of it’s delivery.

I having nothing but respect for our teachers, the underpaid and under-appreciated conveyers of the next generation. Entrusted with the successful development of our soon to be leaders, scientists, engineers, retail salesman, pro-gamers and hipster musicians. How are they supposed to do a better job of preparing children if everything is setup to shortcut the process for them? One of the best things I learned was how to do problem solving. It essentially teaches us how to learn, and this should never be undervalued. Neither should the value of basic math in Monopoly!