Chess in School Curriculum

You should know that there is an honors system in the American education system called Advanced Placement. This is the equivalent of giving the "strong chess players who stand out" advaned study opportunities after tests are given to gauge  everyone in the same high school level.

Chess could probably be injected in a Math or art class, masked as an "abstract calculation" exercise. However, the problem is not in the introduction; it is in the curriculum-integrated follow-up lessons. That will not fly in the US education system on a nationwide scale just like in Soviet Russia.

Or were talking about every child in the world?

sure.

here is the thing, I had the opportunity to participate in Math Olympiad ... because fortunately I was taught math.

I don't feel learning chess should be restricted to only tag students or those in honor classes.  Kids can pursue follow up lessons after they are taught chess, I'd like the education system (all over the world would be awesome) to make the initiative to teach children how to play, at least.  No masking anything, just give them a bit incentive (besides free time to play.. I know a lot of us were drawn into spelling bees, geography bees because we had fun competing and it seemed like we were getting out of class work.)  I don't think you have to mask what you're learning if you make it fun and add some perks, I think this is enough to teach basic play.

totally misc. I'll add - I'm not saying that because the children should learn to play chess that they should have be interested in it or join the chess clubs.  Not at all, children who can run don't have to join track, children who can shoot hoops don't have to join the basketball team, and kids who can sing don't have to join the choir.

At high school level, I think it is fine to offer chess as an extra curricular class (like instead of shop) but I don't see a problem in finding time to teach children in pre-school or elementary .. I wish I'd learned chess instead of how to color inside the lines...

 Do all kids want to particapate?

I teach chess in the school system here in San Francisco California. Because its been proven that kids do better in math and science when exposed to chess, the school system welcomes chess into the educational fold. In fact there are three seperate chess schools bringing chess into the schools here.

????????? 

We get too many kids and can barely keep up with the demand. As for my spelling, I opt to blame my laptop's keyboard (arggggghh).

How do you know it's not just kids who would be good in math, and science anyway,  who choose to participate?

That's because learning math and science uses similar skills to those needed to get good at chess, not because chess makes them better at it. If you want a kid to be better at math and science, teach them math and science.

EDIT: woodshover beat me to the point there

You don't have to be good to benefit from playing chess.

By far the greatest benefit would be that chess professionals will suddenly have a steady income.

IM Silman has told stories of sleeping on park benches and his friends' floors, and it's generally agreed that you have to be a top player to make a good living off of chess. If chess was in schools, all of these people would be able to hold down a part-time job and still be competitive. The chess teachers could get together at lunch hours. Prepare together. Study together. Annotate together.

Maybe learning chess helps the player himself. But more importantly, it would be a huge boon for all of the titled players out there that go to tournaments thousands of miles away and often lose money because of it.

Nonetheless, the purpose of school is to educate the young, not to fund semi-pro chess players having trouble making financial ends meet.

American schools are doing a poor enough job educating the young. I doubt diverting more energy and funds into chess instruction will help.

Agreed @ipcress. That isn't really the point of having chess in the curriculum. But it sure would help.

But we don't know that. I've not been impressed with the positive chess-education studies I've looked at. About 50% of scientific studies are not replicable and of those social science studies are the worst -- researchers finding what they want to find.

Here's a good critical overview of chess-education field: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236883992_Educational_benefits_of_chess_instruction_A_critical_review The authors conclude:

As argued in this chapter, there is a huge chasm between the strong claims often found in chess literature and the rather inconclusive findings of a limited number of studies. The extant evidence seems to indicate that (a) the possible effects of optional chess instruction are still an open question; (b) compulsory instruction is not to be recommended, as it seems to lead to motivational problems; and (c) while chess instruction may be beneficial at the beginning, the benefits seem to decrease as chess skill improves, because of the amount of practice necessary and the specificity of the knowledge that is acquired.

They should at least have a club, especially the larger schools. When I went to school in the 7th grade early 70's they did have a club, it only met one time. It was only 30 minutes,there were about 10 other kids that showed up. They didn't even have one in my middle school, nor high school, at least that I knew about. I should have tried to start one.

Your right... If you show that you are committed to be there for those kids...your team will grow. I do want to make a comment about school staff (most importantly the Principal and Vic Principal) support of a school based chess club... it makes it so much easier to help build a school based chess club. My own experience speaks volumes... Up until last year I had great support from my Principal/VP.  Last year my school i coach at started a new Principal/and VP...both showed very little excitement when it came to scholastic chess...and it showed in last years team size.... 10 kids vs the usual 20 or more. So...if possible...try your best to get school staff on board.

I absolutely think chess can be taught in school and taught well. In Russia it is a mainstay. What is transferrable? Patient problem solving, grace under pressure, emotional resilience to name but a few. It is a game that has evolved as we have culturally and is therefore arguably in our DNA. Families can be brought together with it. It is brutal in its inexorable logic and teaches players to suffer no prejudice about preconceived notions but to confront only the facts on the board as presented. It is a path to logic, spatial perception, and how to be a better person through discipline and shared experience with other humans. Not to teach chess is a loss.