Hello.
Am just starting an after school program class on games of thought and skill, with emphasis (I hope) on chess. The students will decide what games they want to learn and get good at. It's only once a week so I'm not certain we'll have time to explore enought of the other possible interests enough for them to realize that no other game can compete with the depth and satisfaction that chess offers. We are in Mountainair, New Mexico - small town - 1500 population, an hour away from Albuquerque. About 2/3 Hispanic. "Nothing to do here" is the kids' big gripe. I plan to help them change that. Will keep you posted. Would like to read about anyone out there doing anything similar. Buena Suerte.
2 comments:
Claudio, try taking a look at the New Mexico Chess Association at: http://www.nmchess.org/ for additional resources!
John
Claudio - good to see another blog for Mountainair. And I think cultivating an interest in chess is a super idea, albeit likely an uphill struggle.
Having lived here going on 8 years, taught at UNM Valencia and worked in the after school program, here's my recommendation for perking their interest: look for online chess gaming - perhaps asynchronous for practice, synchronous with chat/IM feature.
Btw - current Mountainair population is less than 1,500. Demographics are closer to 50/50 split, although the Hispanic % does climb in the school population.
Why not inquire locally for other chess players and think about starting a local chess club that the students could also join? As a starting chess player in high school, I recall how being invited to the adult chess perked my interest - not that any of us wanted spend all our chess time with adults.
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