Dallas County JP sees chess as a strategy for reaching youth offenders
08:41 AM CDT on Friday, July 13, 2007
By HERB BOOTH / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
On a recent day at the Lancaster Recreation Center, anxious teenagers hurriedly put together chess boards and pieces at a table while some of their parents moved chairs into place.
But the young players weren’t members of a school chess club.
Many were truants, ordered to be there by Justice of the Peace Thomas Jones.
Judge Jones, justice of the peace in Dallas County Precinct 1, opts to place many young offenders with court-appointed mentors.
The youths learn how to play chess or perform community service to reduce their fines.
The mentors work not only with the truants but their parents as well.
“What chess does is make them think of the next move,” Judge Jones said.
“In life, you have to do that, too. They have to think about skipping school and what their next move will be.”
It helps that many of the kids seem to buy into the program.
“It’s a very challenging game,” said Shelby White, a Lancaster High School sophomore who skipped school several times.
“My mom signed me up. It’s cool learning how to play.”
Parents like Gaylene Mabry see the benefit of the program as well.
Ms. Mabry has two sons in the program: Darian, who was truant, and another who just wanted to learn to play chess.
“Darian was out of school a number of times,” she said.
“I think this has helped him.”
Darian landed a job at Minyard a couple of weeks ago, she said.
Here is the full article.
This is a really good idea. Well done Judge!