Fortnite Mobile Calls Out Kids Playing During Class
Since the release of Fortnite mobile, kids have been playing it during class, which is giving teachers lots of trouble. And it looks like Epic Games has taken notice, adding a warning that says ““Mr. Hillman says stop playing in class.”
The reference is from a now-deleted Reddit thread, where a teacher asked Epic to make a callout to his students.
“Since mobile came out my students won’t stop playing in class. Idk if it’s possible, but I told them I’d write you and they didn’t believe me. Could you add this to the loading screen for a couple days to mess with them?”
“‘Mr. Hillman says stop playing in class'”
Although this probably won’t fix the problem, it’s a funny way to address the complaints.
Nick Gutierrez, a high school AP computer science teacher, was another to speak out about the game distracting his students.
“There has been a rise in the number of incidents with students walking into classes while playing the games,” he said. “They started a match during lunch, or before school, and need to finish the 10-15 [minute] long matches. I have noticed in my room students siting next to each other trying to play while pretending to do work.”
During one period where students were supposed to ask questions about an upcoming test, they broke out into debate about Fortnite.
“Students spent the entire time talking about PUBG’s auto aim, and not the question like normal,” Gutierrez said. “I jokingly asked ‘Which is going to matter more in a few months for the AP exam? This, or PUBG?’ to which predictably, a student in the back yells ‘FORTNITE’S BETTER.’”
As the hype dies down, the problem of Fortnite in schools likely will too. Until then, it sounds like teachers have their work cut out for them.