TED talk on children and chess

[Aidoneus]

A nice, short TED talk about some of the positive effects playing chess has on children. I have observed such things teaching children in Tucson and, especially, Gary. If anything, the speaker understates the impact of having an elementary school chess program. I assume that Go would have similar benefits.

TED talk link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yDvM8 ... +for+chess

[tekesta]

I got fired up after a few minutes of watching the video.

Chess programs exist in many school districts throughout the US. There is even a film titled Brooklyn Castle about the chess team of Intermediate School No. 318 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City.

Though there is widepsread support for chess-in-schools programs - you can ask any parent - there are some school principals and district superintendents that believe chess programs to be an exercise in frivolity and so look for more "productive" ways in which students can dispose of their time in school and after school.

I believe firmly that Chess in Schools is a step in the right direction. At least through a compulsory chess or baduk program, the general intelligence and conduct of an entire student body can be improved, so that there are no sharp distinctions between different students.

I believe a baduk program can be just as beneficial in US schools, probably even more so. However, this game does not have the cultural penetration in the US, Europe, and Latin America that chess has. Hence, baduk would first have to establish a reputation as a game for cultivating intelligence and moral integrity.

[tekesta]

I forgot to add that one possible obstacle to teaching baduk to children in schools may be the initial teaching method. (Any long lectures usually turn off children and teenagers.) I found this blog post that shows one way to keep an ordinarily bookish subject vital and interesting.

http://www.reddit.com/r/baduk/comments/ ... my_method/