School of Pretending

An interesting essay about high school education;

In my high school French class we were supposed to read Hugo's Les Miserables. I don't think any of us knew French well enough to make our way through this enormous book. Like the rest of the class, I just skimmed the Cliff's Notes. When we were given a test on the book, I noticed that the questions sounded odd. They were full of long words that our teacher wouldn't have used. Where had these questions come from? From the Cliff's Notes, it turned out. The teacher was using them too. We were all just pretending.

via David Friedman

'Life is a Kind of Chess'

At what age should we be teaching children to think? Is Chess an effective way? Which Board games are the best?;

Research shows, there is a strong correlation between learning to play chess and academic achievement. In 2000, a landmark study found that students who received chess instruction scored significantly higher on all measures of academic achievement, including math, spatial analysis, and non-verbal reasoning ability (Smith and Cage, 2000).

Related:
Bedtime Stories for Children

Chess program has students feeling like kings and queens

It exposes them to sportsmanship -- the thrill of victory and gracious defeat,” said Sears.

Parent Michael Scholfield agrees. He has been more than impressed with his 6-year-old son Matthew’s improved behavior since learning the game at Jones.

“He’s more disciplined and patient,” said Scholfield.
“Chess has taught him to lose gracefully and to win gracefully -- not to gloat. It’s all about doing your best.”

Chess Links

Play Shredder Chess Online

Teaching critical thinking: A Parenting Science guide