Sunday morning it is here and as I was preparing to post a 2 page tactical exercises for everyone, I received an anonymous comment/letter which deserves to be published in full here:
I felt I had to and I need to reply.
Come October, chess will be taught in most public schools in the Philippines. I say most because as hopeful and wishful we can be, implementation of a nationwide project will definitely be tough. For sure the preparation for October has been done as early as February 2009. Dissemination of memorandum from Aparri to Jolo would have made the publicity much easier with all the chess blogs and websites on Philippine chess helping the cause.
Summer of 2009 GM Bong Villamayor, NCFP and DEPED trained "higher decks" teachers.
Expectedly, the agencies involved in this project started at the top level, administrators and coordinators of public schools and districts. One topic that should have been discussed during the teacher training and workshop is Chess 101 for the clueless.
No I don't intend to poke fun at these stressed and abused public servants called teachers for not knowing the how's of chess and the technicalities that goes with it. I can imagine how confusing it was for them learning the different rules of the game: touch and move, Triple repetition, 50 move rule, Time controls and the Swiss System are just some of these.
Positive still about all of these, there are teacher who are effective in what they do and there are students who are interested in what is served on the table. There will be teachers who would opt to take the road less travelled and there would be teachers who would definitely shy away from teaching this course.
Students will either walk the path other succesful chess people took and there would be students who would rather take up violin classes or Taekwondo sessions. I have experienced this myself with my own children and they'd rather do something different than what they're seeing from their parents.
Am I out of the line now? Well going back.
Asking students to create chessboards out of cartons and other materials is just one of the many possible and plausible projects teachers can give their bored students.
Before I left for Morocco, I taught one Summer Chess class in Mahatma Gandhi International School. Basic topics like the names of the squares, piece movements and board visualization activities we did. And these kids were Koreans who didn't know English and chess at the same time.
I remember I had them draw a chess board and had them post in our room. There were some who worked tirelessly and with gusto but there were some who'd rather be somewhere else.
When I was in college taking my BS in Occupational Therapy, we were asked to create our own "Hemphil Kit" which we will use in our 3 month internship in National Center for Mental Health-Mandaluyong. For one term I burned the midnight oil and slashed my parents purse for the following: glue, scissors, crayons, illustration boards, plastic caps and paints and all gadgets we needed thinking we were able to save on costs if we make our own kit instead of buying them overseas.
By the way, this Hemphil Kit is used to assess psychiatric patients of their daily internal balance.
You know what? I found out later that the money I used to complete the kit is just the same if I bought the Kit.
My point is, we tend to skimp on things we ought to have and need and we overspend for the things we do not really need.
A Eureka Chess set is around 450 Pesos. A phone load from Globe or Smart can range from 25 to 300 Pesos consumable.
It's a good idea to create or make your own chess set if it would help the student remember the squares and pieces accordingly. But for teaching resources? I don't think so.
I have taught for a year in a public school in Imus Cavite and there are alternatives to the excuse "No Budget." Politicians and well meaning people will always help out once they are told of the need and it's goodness for the community.
Don't get me wrong about you lingering idea. It will definitely part of the Filipino chess student's to-do list come October. Distributing chess boards maybe one of the tactics to be used by election candidates this coming 2010. Right?
My thughts on the chess in the schools program?
This is not an assurance that everyone will get into chess and become the next Eugene Torre or Wesley So. This is not your all-in-all-pass nationwide chess project that will bring glory back to our country.
Every color and every hue is represented by me and you, take a slide in the slope.
Kaleidoscope world it is!
"I have this thought lingering long long ago - - How can chess be propagated in the grassroots
In my sojourn in my and my wife’s hometown, I have at least distributed 10 chess sets free, to my relatives, friends and acquaintances. These people have the interest in this sport, but lack the capability to purchase a decent chess set…which is not a priority expense in their list.
The more chess is propagated, the more well have of Wesley like revelations. Now, with the DepEd’s involvement, this set shortage will become acute,.
Imagine a 50 student class, discussing chess with only 1 miniscule chess set! and in the provinces, if they are blessed to have one.
Learning will be impeded, and interest may wane.
NOW, HOW ABOUT THIS:
What if the Grade 6 students, in their Vocational subject (we have this eons ago), have a project to fabricate the “Chess Pieces” abstractly – from locally available materials;
The pieces can easily be cut from round tree branches around 25mm in diameter. From this, the knights can be curved, pawns can be a simple cylindrical shape, Bishops pointed, etc.
A nationwide contest can be held for the design so that the pieces fabricated anywhere in the Phils should be standard in shape and size and migrating later to the Staunton standard will have a smooth sailing.
Chess board can be assigned to the girls, which can easily be fabricated from cut cartoons and squared colored papers pasted
Whats your say on this?"
In my sojourn in my and my wife’s hometown, I have at least distributed 10 chess sets free, to my relatives, friends and acquaintances. These people have the interest in this sport, but lack the capability to purchase a decent chess set…which is not a priority expense in their list.
The more chess is propagated, the more well have of Wesley like revelations. Now, with the DepEd’s involvement, this set shortage will become acute,.
Imagine a 50 student class, discussing chess with only 1 miniscule chess set! and in the provinces, if they are blessed to have one.
Learning will be impeded, and interest may wane.
NOW, HOW ABOUT THIS:
What if the Grade 6 students, in their Vocational subject (we have this eons ago), have a project to fabricate the “Chess Pieces” abstractly – from locally available materials;
The pieces can easily be cut from round tree branches around 25mm in diameter. From this, the knights can be curved, pawns can be a simple cylindrical shape, Bishops pointed, etc.
A nationwide contest can be held for the design so that the pieces fabricated anywhere in the Phils should be standard in shape and size and migrating later to the Staunton standard will have a smooth sailing.
Chess board can be assigned to the girls, which can easily be fabricated from cut cartoons and squared colored papers pasted
Whats your say on this?"
I felt I had to and I need to reply.
Come October, chess will be taught in most public schools in the Philippines. I say most because as hopeful and wishful we can be, implementation of a nationwide project will definitely be tough. For sure the preparation for October has been done as early as February 2009. Dissemination of memorandum from Aparri to Jolo would have made the publicity much easier with all the chess blogs and websites on Philippine chess helping the cause.
Summer of 2009 GM Bong Villamayor, NCFP and DEPED trained "higher decks" teachers.
Expectedly, the agencies involved in this project started at the top level, administrators and coordinators of public schools and districts. One topic that should have been discussed during the teacher training and workshop is Chess 101 for the clueless.
No I don't intend to poke fun at these stressed and abused public servants called teachers for not knowing the how's of chess and the technicalities that goes with it. I can imagine how confusing it was for them learning the different rules of the game: touch and move, Triple repetition, 50 move rule, Time controls and the Swiss System are just some of these.
Positive still about all of these, there are teacher who are effective in what they do and there are students who are interested in what is served on the table. There will be teachers who would opt to take the road less travelled and there would be teachers who would definitely shy away from teaching this course.
Students will either walk the path other succesful chess people took and there would be students who would rather take up violin classes or Taekwondo sessions. I have experienced this myself with my own children and they'd rather do something different than what they're seeing from their parents.
Am I out of the line now? Well going back.
Asking students to create chessboards out of cartons and other materials is just one of the many possible and plausible projects teachers can give their bored students.
Before I left for Morocco, I taught one Summer Chess class in Mahatma Gandhi International School. Basic topics like the names of the squares, piece movements and board visualization activities we did. And these kids were Koreans who didn't know English and chess at the same time.
I remember I had them draw a chess board and had them post in our room. There were some who worked tirelessly and with gusto but there were some who'd rather be somewhere else.
When I was in college taking my BS in Occupational Therapy, we were asked to create our own "Hemphil Kit" which we will use in our 3 month internship in National Center for Mental Health-Mandaluyong. For one term I burned the midnight oil and slashed my parents purse for the following: glue, scissors, crayons, illustration boards, plastic caps and paints and all gadgets we needed thinking we were able to save on costs if we make our own kit instead of buying them overseas.
By the way, this Hemphil Kit is used to assess psychiatric patients of their daily internal balance.
You know what? I found out later that the money I used to complete the kit is just the same if I bought the Kit.
My point is, we tend to skimp on things we ought to have and need and we overspend for the things we do not really need.
A Eureka Chess set is around 450 Pesos. A phone load from Globe or Smart can range from 25 to 300 Pesos consumable.
It's a good idea to create or make your own chess set if it would help the student remember the squares and pieces accordingly. But for teaching resources? I don't think so.
I have taught for a year in a public school in Imus Cavite and there are alternatives to the excuse "No Budget." Politicians and well meaning people will always help out once they are told of the need and it's goodness for the community.
Don't get me wrong about you lingering idea. It will definitely part of the Filipino chess student's to-do list come October. Distributing chess boards maybe one of the tactics to be used by election candidates this coming 2010. Right?
My thughts on the chess in the schools program?
This is not an assurance that everyone will get into chess and become the next Eugene Torre or Wesley So. This is not your all-in-all-pass nationwide chess project that will bring glory back to our country.
Every color and every hue is represented by me and you, take a slide in the slope.
Kaleidoscope world it is!
No comments:
Post a Comment