Teachers Page
Why teach chess?
Chess helps students improve their mental abilities, such as: Chess teaches students that there are consequences for their actions and that making good decisions based on planning and reasoning has happier outcomes than being impulsive and making poor decisions.
You do not need to be a great chess player to teach chess. You just need to be a great teacher and chess can help. Some of our best chess teachers did not know even the rules of the game when they began teaching chess. They had open minds and the desire to learn along with their students. They followed our lesson plan; now they have great classes with happier, more productive students. Students learn responsibility and the necessity of following rules so discipline problems are reduced and there is less need for repetition. Teachers save time in the classroom allowing them more opportunities for enriching activities. Chess is not an academic subject, yet chess players become better students. Chess is an amazing tool in the hands of educators as it produces students more ready to pay attention and learn.
How can you, as a teacher, introduce chess when you are not sure of the rules? It's not hard. You use our lesson plan. The U.S. Chess Center's basic philosophy includes teaching students the rules of etiquette, and then breaking down the game into pieces small enough that any person can learn them all. We spend very little time lecturing children, and the instruction is done through having the students answer leading questions. At least two-thirds of the total class time is spent actually using the pieces, playing games. We have taught more than 25,000 children to play chess using these methods. It has worked for us, it can work for you. Contact U.S. Chess Center Executive Director David Mehler for more information. |