Chess in School Curriculum

Required for one semester. 

To all the people who are being somewhat negative about 'so called teachers' :

I would remind you that the state of education in whatever country you are referring to has little to do with teachers - it has more to do with 1. Government 2. School Management 3. Other Education policy makers 4. Student behaviours and attitudes 5. Parent's (if kids have them) behaviours and attitudes.

Blaming teachers for the mess of education is like blaming bank clerks for the financial crisis.

At most teachers are only one part of this mix.

Enjoy your chess.

"Chess For Success" By GM Maurice Ashley contains documented studies on the benefits of chess and learning in school.  Grades were shown to improve in all subjects across the board. I once talked to a kid in his early teens who struggled with taking tests. He said he just couldn't muster up the concentration to finish them. He started playing chess and credited chess with helping him being able to finally concentrate on tests in school.

That would require initiative...

What about a master's degree in college for teachers of chess.  Is it possible?

 I don't think a masters degree should be required. Just a certain rating, and a proven ability to teach chess.

Yes... a very resounding yes!!!!

I teach reading at the 8th grade level. I also teach chess for one class period and have done so for two years. Before that I taught it as part of an afterschool program (Building Bridges) for three years... sooo I speak from experience. I SAW what it did for many students.

Benefits:

1. Absolutely teaches higher level thinking skills such as exploring options and logic skills which easily translates to helping in ANY subject.

2. Helps students focus. Many students have a very difficult time just focusing on school work... little by little chess helps them focus which translates to more assignments getting done which means more learning and thus better grades and state test scores.

3. Helps students develop self worth and confidence. Many students just about their whole life are shown or told through sports and academics that they do not measure up. At our school we compete in large monthly chess tournaments (over 700 students from K-12) and these same students BEAT academy students in chess. There is nothing like a win like that to pump some confidence in students and their parents... I've seen that scene played over and over again and will never grow tired of it.

4. Through chess competition students learn sportsmanship. Many never get that opportunity because many have never played in ANY organized sport/competition before.

Through the 5 years that I've taught chess (again, 3 years after school program- 2 years as a class), I've watched as C,D and F students become C, B and A students. So you can bet, I am totally for it being included in the curriculum.  

A very positive contribution here clms_chess.  Thank you very much for your comment and observations.

woodshover.  That's what i meant.  But the rating should be recognized by the school by giving him the equivalent master title for that.

 I'm in favor of it being taught, but aren't there any students that suck at chess bad enough that they might feel they don't measure up?

That's the challenge of the mentors.  The students are'nt aware what chess playing can bring to them but the mentors are.  Students should not be measured by what they stand against any other one.  They must engage only in chess playing to sharpen their minds.

 Good question woodshover (cool nick). You are absolutely correct in that there are some students who... when they first learn... do not pick up chess skills as fast as others and would at that time... would be looked at as those students "who don't measure up". What you don't do with these students though is give up... ever. Every year (this year is no exception), chess students that I had as 6th graders, with apparently no naturual chess skills, became 8th grade skilled chess players. One student went from qualifying for group D (Polk Scholastic Chess) as a 6th grader qualified for the top 16 in county (finished 7th out of over 170 registered players). Another, I had as a 6th grader two years ago went from qualifying for group F to group A as an 8th grader. Again, both were near or at the bottom of the team when they first started.  

Instead of part of curriculam, it could be added as part of sports or extra-curricular activity.

 I disagree, because it would tend to be played just by the ones who turned out  to be the best at it, and if you read most of the rest of the posts on here, you would see that that's not the purpose of offering it. That's not to say they couldn't have extra-curricular clubs for good students who wanted to compete at it.

Wouldn't a chess coach be thrilled to be defeated by a student? If, on the other hand, you are talking about a student taking advantage of a teacher, the teacher would quickly figure out if a student is trying to take advantage of the teacher's system of teaching. The question I think is one of ethics and not ability.

Yes they probably would. In fact this is the joy of teaching (anything) - something which many people cannot comprehend!

@ OP: at best one could use chess as a minor section of a main discipline, for example logic puzzles or some sort of math unit perhaps. chess should not be in the curriculum on it's own though.

 Your wrong. Your statement is an opinion. I speak from experience... five years of teaching chess... two of which was as a class. Please refer to my previous posts.

Yes, there is research that chess improves school performance.

However, I used to be interested in Esperanto, an artificial language. There was plenty of research that learning Esperanto helped students learn other languages, and all the Esperantists insisted it should be taught in schools.

I know many martial arts players are convinced that including martial arts in PE would improve the students' fitness, discipline, as well as mental well being.

You see, everyone is convinced that the activity they love would be beneficial for everyone-but is that really an objective point of view?

Furthermore, people don't generally respond well to coercion. Required chess for twelve years might make many view it as a chore, not a leisure activity. Just take a look at how many adults never read another book after finishing high school-literature classes disgusted them for life.

I'm for a fully elective school system, but before that happens-let's not fill the mandatory curriculum with our hobbies.

I completely disagree. I work for America's Foundation for Chess and we have dedicated our entire organization to chess in the classroom. We developed a chess curriculum that teaches chess and critical thinking and analytical skills in second and third grade classrooms. Our curriculum is in over 1500 classrooms across the United States, and growing. We have seen the power of chess first hand as an in-school curriculum. The reason it works being taught alongside math and reading, is that our curriculum ties and aligns directly to the subjects and core standards. We are mapped to state standards and our curriculum enhances the retention of core subjects. When chess is taught in the classroom it reaches ALL students, rather than just those who can stay after school, or pay for a private lesson. Our model reaches more students at just $650 per classroom for the first year. I wouldn't entirely write off chess in education, it works, and I have seen it work first hand with First Move!

The bigger issue is political.

Change is a risk (for those who implement the change).

In the US the focus is on measurable results that can easily be understood and seen by the lay person. The expectation is good test results, period! THis results in teachers teaching for the tests, not thinking.

Chess teaches critical thinking, exploration of ideas and trial & error methodology. None of which are measurable.

It is interesting to note that chess is very popular with two cultural groups...

Indian and Chinese... hmmmmmmm

(note I am a chess coach as well with 15+ schools)