Pretty much agree on all counts, this is just a bullshit fluff class. It might be fun but it's not going to teach them anything that could not be learned better with other material. I also agree strongly about the idea of a class that analyzes games in a critical / scholarly way - that would be much more valid. If students can be taught to write about something they feel passionate about, that's a great way to learn.
To me, the problem is that it's taking up school time. Let's be real here, high school is not really that demanding. You're done at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and most days you only have a couple hours of real homework to do if you actually buckle down and get it done efficiently. E-sports are fine as a pursuit, but school is a time to learn and not necessarily to do stuff that you want to do / would do anyway. Being taken out of your comfort zone is a big part of what schools are all about, and you can't really say how that will better you until it's already happened. Offering a class where you pretty much just play videogames is just adding an obvious choice that isn't really going to challenge or provoke students who take it to do something that they wouldn't normally do. Obviously I'm generalizing a bit but that's my take on it.
