Pestaño: Marie Ernestine adds chess in curriculum
Thursday, May 14, 2015
By FRANK ‘BOY’ PESTAÑO
CHESSMOSO
MARIE Ernestine , in both their Mactan and Talamban campuses, will continuously and permanently include chess education as part of their curriculum for Grades 3,4,5 and 6 starting this school year .
To my knowledge, this is the first time for a school to do so in the whole Philippines. The administrator believes that this move shall further enhance the critical thinking skills for the continuous improvement of their students. Just like any subject in school, the students will be graded according to what skills and life values they have learned.
International Master Kim Steven Yap of the Cebu School of Chess will handle the Mactan campus, while National Master Merben Roque of Cebu Chess Masters will be assigned at Talamban. The memorandum of agreement will be finalized and signed in their Mactan campus this May 29 at 3 p.m..
In about 40 countries across the globe, including Brazil, Spain, Armenia, Venezuela ,China, Singapore, Israel, Italy, Russia, Turkey and Greece chess is incorporated into the country’s scholastic curriculum.
I would like to share a recent article by John Koshy (with permission) which is very enlightening to those involved in the education of children.
“Why chess? Because chess is more than a board game. It teaches us to think analytically and be more successful in life, no matter what profession one pursues..
If you favor intelligence over strength, then think chess. Unlike some other games, chess does not rely on luck, muscular strength or brute force. It is a brain over brawn exercise and an exquisite art form that has existed for more than 1,500 years in India.
In chess, both players are provided with equal opportunities and they use strategy and intelligence to win.
So why is chess more than a game?
Because the pattern of thinking in a game of chess can be used while dealing with real-life situations to achieve better outcomes. As a chess player, you learn to analyze situations, evaluate options, plan strategically and solve problems-attributes that will help us be more successful in our daily lives.
Full article here.