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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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New attendance record for CYCC (non Ontario edition)
With the apparent ease and success of the CFC Annual Meeting held as an online forum, perhaps a new forum could be created for chess in schools. There would be a thread for each province, but also for specific topics, such as Defi Mathematique. And subjects such as the obvious one that if chess becomes part of the curriculum, it will have to be teachable by existing, "Teachers Federation" teachers, a reality that the creators of Defi Mathematique faced and succeeded in.
It's an idea, if there are enough people willing to work on it. The only thing worse for publicity than no forum is a forum where nobody posts :p
With highest regard for CMA / AEM, which trains and provides its own teachers to schools. I am 100% for CFC and CMA cooperating, but perhaps the CFC could carry the ball on this one difficult initiative.
Education is provincial, and it is only with strong provincial chess associations that chess will enter the curricula of more provinces. Yes, I am trying to wear you down by repeating this message a thousand times. Do not resist.
I'm not sure why you're trying to wear ME down, since I agree it should be taught in schools, and also since I'm actually a teacher and thus I understand how it has to work with the curriculum.
Interestingly, I've seen chess boards in virtually every Special Education class I've ever been in, where the curriculum can be modified.
Anyway, I was only trying to make the point that ignoring or denigrating the efforts that people have done so far is hardly great encouragement for those people to continue what they've been doing.
Far from ignoring or denigrating, I think perhaps the posters were simply not aware of those efforts. Is there a centralized repository that lists or points to all those recent efforts to convince provincial education ministries in Canada to introduce chess as a curricular subject? If so, could you point us to it?
With regard to the use of a forum for exchanging information, I guess it is always the struggle of opposites:
~ Build it and they will come -- Or Not.
~ If a tree falls in the forest, is it worse than if there is no tree?
But I agree. If chesstalkers or CFCers don't think a subject is compelling, then yes, for sure, somebody else should have it.
Re: Re : Re: Re : Yoo Hoo Chris Mallon and/or Larry Bevand
In high school we had a chess club. That was in Winnipeg. During the Easter break we had a school team event. There were teams from several of the high schools. I know. How strong could that have been in Winnipeg? Well, one of my board 1 opponents went on to win the Canadian junior and represented Canada at the world junior.
Some of the things being discussed now to improve the participation were in effect 50 or more years ago so aren't ground breaking.
Mostly the schools are into the jock sports, or they were back then. Always trying to win provincial championships. Somehow chess doesn't come into the mix.
What subject do you teach? I think I read in another post somewhere you mentioned you're a teacher. Music?
When I was in Grade 9, our chess coach was extremely close to having a chess class created at our school. Back then, schools had much more flexibility in what they could offer, before the standardized curriculum. Now you have to go at it one of two ways; twist around an existing course offering to fit chess, or try to get some kind of chess course added to the curriculum.
Of course, in Grade 9 we also played chess every day at lunch (hour-long lunches) and 4 days a week after school (for up to 90 minutes). These days, lunches are shorter, and there are also way more non-sport activities for the students that compete with chess.
In any debate about the merits of teaching chess in schools and universities, some would argue you might be opening a Pandora's box, because other games such as Scrabble, Go, Backgammon, Chinese Chess, Maj Jong (?), and yes even Bingo, could be added to the list. Bingo involves numbers, letters, pattern recognition, concentration -- heck, it must be just as benefecial as chess! Oh wait, it doesn't involve thinking ahead... so we'll just put it in the lower grades, to prepare them for chess later on.
My point is that it wouldn't be an easy sell, you'd really have to convince educators that chess offers something special (in term of learning) that other games do not. Someone is going to countersuggest (and I'd agree with them) that not just chess, but all games, even video games, should be taught. In the process, kids could learn about the basics of game theory, and how it has been applied to all these games, not just in practice but in terms of software as well.
If it were to be just chess taught, I would want to see the competitive aspect of it de-emphasized. I would encourage the kids to think of chess variants and to play them, and even to document their findings about them. And I'd present them with chess problems and have them work in pairs to solve them, teaching them something about teamwork. And they could be taught chess history, to learn how chess has been a part of many different cultures. At an advanced stage, the inner workings of a software chess engine could be explored.
Just teaching them chess to channel them into tournaments is the wrong idea, IMO. That's only going to make the less talented feel inferior and stupid, because they'll know (at some early point) that it's all about mental skills. So the school course would be for learning other more creative aspects of chess.
Of course, I do realize that Mr. Hebert is going to jump in and insist that it should only be chess that is taught, because that's his meal ticket. Maybe we should have a separate thread, with a poll, on this question.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
Some of the things being discussed now to improve the participation were in effect 50 or more years ago so aren't ground breaking.
Mostly the schools are into the jock sports, or they were back then. Always trying to win provincial championships. Somehow chess doesn't come into the mix.
Jock sports ? Is there on earth one nation more into jock sports than the US ? That has not prevented chess to grow by leaps and bounds in the US education system. I am afraid Gary that you are outdated. You need a fresher outlook on things. Chess is more relevant than ever to educate our kids but the fact is that in Canada we are lagging behind. Through no fault but our own.
Jock sports ? Is there on earth one nation more into jock sports than the US ? That has not prevented chess to grow by leaps and bounds in the US education system. I am afraid Gary that you are outdated. You need a fresher outlook on things. Chess is more relevant than ever to educate our kids but the fact is that in Canada we are lagging behind. Through no fault but our own.
We don't even have one federation for all of Canada. When the organizations try to negotiate one, the crying starts. Beware oh fellow members. The other side is trying to screw you. The want to take all your money and leave you barefoot and without means. A mortally dangerous document for Quebec players. And so forth.
Why would the provincial school systems want to get involved in such a situation?
From your fresh view as a recent CFC governor, exactly what did you accomplish during your term? Did you make a difference?
Jock sports ? Is there on earth one nation more into jock sports than the US ? That has not prevented chess to grow by leaps and bounds in the US education system. I am afraid Gary that you are outdated. You need a fresher outlook on things. Chess is more relevant than ever to educate our kids but the fact is that in Canada we are lagging behind. Through no fault but our own.
Yeah US Universities recruit Chess as much as they do football. It's a big thing.
Beware oh fellow members. The other side is trying to screw you. The want to take all your money and leave you barefoot and without means. A mortally dangerous document for Quebec players. And so forth.
Yes a mortal danger for the FQE when it suddenly allows its players to buy membership from another federation with rights to play in FQE events. If the roles were reversed you would see the point in a split second.
Why would the provincial school systems want to get involved in such a situation?
The provincial school systems need a provincial association to deal with, especially in Quebec for language reasons. Is there another bunch of basic concepts that you have failed to grasp in your lifetime ?
From your fresh view as a recent CFC governor, exactly what did you accomplish during your term? Did you make a difference?
I did not choose to be a governor and I had no plan to become one. I try to make a difference by sharing my opinions based on knowledge and experience. Whether I am successful or not is not for me to judge. Many people actually say and write that I do. I can stand those with a different opinion.
The provincial school systems need a provincial association to deal with, especially in Quebec for language reasons. Is there another bunch of basic concepts that you have failed to grasp in your lifetime ?
I did not choose to be a governor and I had no plan to become one. I try to make a difference by sharing my opinions based on knowledge and experience. Whether I am successful or not is not for me to judge. Many people actually say and write that I do. I can stand those with a different opinion.
Nevertheless you did become a governor and could have "expanded your repertoire" by using that position to attempt the changes you desire.
Instead, you did nothing as governor, and merely continue to hack at hard-working organizers and even personally denigrate them. Expressing opinions is fine, but you many times cross the line of decency. An example right here: did you really need to ask Gary if there's any other basic concepts he has failed to grasp in his lifetime? That was just a total insult. I guess now Gary knows what most of us already knew: you are a legend in your own mind.
Expecting to make a difference merely with your opinion is basically putting yourself on a pedestal and expecting everyone to be influenced because of who you are. I also give opinions, but I don't expect to make one iota of difference. I'm a nobody in chess, but I can still give a few opinions here thanks to Larry. What people do with them is their perogative. They can put me on their ignore list, all that does is demonstrate how close-minded they are. You yourself have admitted to having an ignore list, and then you expect to make a difference by expressing your opinion? The height of hypocrisy.
"I can stand those with a different opinion", you write. What a joke to say that and have an ignore list!
There's a phrase for people who sit on the sidelines and give opinions and expect people to follow them: it's called being an armchair quarterback.
Nobody respects an armchair quarterback who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk.... Mr. Governor.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
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