My chesslife nowadays can be summed up in a week work of chess teaching. First, I facilitate and teach the members of MGIS Chess Club (after school activity) which meet every Tuesday. In there, I have 4 grade 3 students who on the registration day for the club told me that they know how to play chess and are good at it and 3 middle years program students who now knows the secret for learning chess: "The more you know, the more you do not know".
And on Fridays, I teach chess to seven middle years program students who chose chess as their PE classes for this term. These are made up of six grade 6 students, a nonth and a tenth grader. Their personalities really border on the "pilosopos" and deep thinkers (non-academic matters for that) which makes me thank God all the more. Indeed, there is hope when we see the younger generation think issues on a global stage and somehow relate them to how it affects their lives on the local scene. Thanks also to IBO, the governing body for all accredited international schools in the whole universe.
I have two other chess students I teach privately on a twice a week basis and on weekends, I play with my neighbor who asks me all the time if he can borrow an openings book or a strategy book on chess. I have never lend him any yet because I told him he should start with mate in 1, 2 and 3 puzzles before he read up on either of the topics he wants. He insist so I resist!
Anyways, my ASA and chess classes have given me so much joy in sharing and teaching the game to them. Most of them are really novice players and here are some of the questions I got from them which I believe is worth noting to further improve my chess teaching and their chess learning:
1. Question from a grade 6 student during a practice match after discussing special moves, castling:
"Sir, why would'nt my opponent allow me to castle my Queen? I have not moved my Queen or my Rook yet?"
My reply:
"Sorry I forgot to emphasize that castling is a King and Rook special move not for Queens."
2. Question from a grade 3 student after I've lectured on the numerical strenghts of each piece. I used the PESO as my unit of measurement:
"Sir, why are we betting and using money in this game, isn't it gambling?"
My reply:
"Oh, I wish next time we all listen carefully to what teacher is saying so we don't mistakenly think we are betting and using money when we study and play chess...and no, we are not betting and using money here"
3. Grade 5 student complaining about the "very easy" mate in one puzzle book I have given him to work on for 35 minutes.
Student: "Sir, can't you give me a much harder task to work on?"
Me: "Work on the first page then if it's peanuts, I'll give you the next module in that series..."
Moments later, the boy is on the 3rd puzzle of the first page...
Student: "Sir, I need help... can't find the mating move!?"
Me: "Ok, see to it the pieces are correctly placed on the squares, same with the diagram from which you are trying to solve. Remember of the reason for these exercises is meant to hone your board visualization skills. So let's try to do just that, let's use our eyes for now and by then the answers will be as clear as daylight"
These are some of the insight-gaining moments I have had for the past month. Teaching these beginner level students may really be considered as a pain but it also pushes me to consider all the right moves that I make in planning prior to meeting them. As a teacher, one can never really assume that our students have the correct idea of what we are teaching.
On my first year of my teaching, I once was asked what's the greatest benefit I get from teaching and I remember saying this after a moment of thought:
"These young minds teach more than I teach them, they teach me about openness, about courage and about honesty. We may think they know less, but the know more. They know not how to feign naivity, ignorance and innocence. These young minds know that only in honesty and courage to admit we do not know that we start to learn by heart".
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