Anna Tsioulias: Grade 8

Pokémon Trading Card Game is a card game in which different fictional creatures appear on separate cards and have a certain amount of health and damage that they can do to other Pokémon. Two or more cards battle each other and use the attacks listed on the card. As a result, each Pokémon loses health until one card wins. Many people of all ages collect Pokémon cards, and they try to obtain more powerful cards than their friends. A good Pokémon card does a lot of attack damage and has a high amount of health. Pokémon cards are a great way for children to interact and bond.

On January 5, 2017, the Buckley Country Day School administration told students they could no longer bring Pokémon Cards to school, because students were trading too much and some students were getting upset because they did not get the cards they wanted. The cards were also banned because some children made others feel bad if their cards were not “good.” The cards were thought to be a distraction from the main mission of school.

Although banning the cards solved these issues, in my opinion, they should not be completely eliminated from Buckley. Some positive aspects of the Pokémon cards are that they provide a way for students to interact with one another, to have less screen time, to encourage imagination, and to do math.

It is not an infrequent occurrence that you might walk through Grace Commons or the Reception Room and see most of the children glued to their devices, rather than interacting with other children. Since Buckley uses devices to further aid the learning process of students, having less screen time outside of the classroom would be better.

While they might be viewed as toys, Pokémon cards are an interesting topic for discussion, particularly for younger children. Students will be able to interact more and form new friendships if Pokémon cards were not banned. Also, even if they are not playing Pokémon, students still talk about it and compare cards from their memory. It is preferable for children to play with cards rather than playing video games or shopping online.

Math is central to the game of Pokémon. If you are having a Pokémon battle, and you do damage to the opposing player’s Pokémon, you need to subtract the amount of health minus the attack damage to find how much health the Pokémon has left. The more powerful the Pokémon, the more math you need to do. Counting your collection, sorting the types of cards you have, or alphabetizing your cards also involves exercising math skills.

In conclusion, although Pokémon cards did make some students feel left out and did perhaps cause a lot of trading, they should not be banned entirely. They help exercise math skills, they offer a way for kids to use less screen time, and they encourage students to use their imaginations and interact with one another.