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The program is designed to enrich and
enhance the core curriculum of Chicago Public Schools'
classrooms by teaching chess to students as part of the
school day. Chess is conductive for students to acquire
higher-order thinking skills, problem solving skills,
reading, math and self-directional skills which are critical
to succeed in school and life. This researched-based
program cultivates progressive learning for 21st century
students. The skills the students acquire are
imperative for their future success in the global
information society.
Participating schools are assigned a Renaissance Knights
trained instructor. The instructor teaches an hour-long
chess lesson once a week to each participating classroom
during the school day. Lessons are scheduled on the same day
and time each week, and classroom teachers often remark that
attendance is highest on “chess day.”
Without charging the students or schools, Renaissance
Knights provides the instructors and all the materials
needed to learn to play chess and provides training for the
teaches so they can utilize chess in the core curriculum.
Our chess instruction method supports the development of
powerful ideas; requires students to apply what they are
learning to larger ideas and genuine experiences; and
facilitates students’ connection between what they are
learning in the classroom and its value in the real world.
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Renaissance
Knights offers several exciting and fun before, during or after-school programs for
students in grades K-12. Sessions are customized for each
school and location. School-funded and parent supported
before school, lunch-time and after school instruction is
available. We provide all the materials needed to learn and play chess.
Through the clubs, the students are introduced to advanced
chess concepts and receive personalized attention.
Particularly in schools and neighborhoods where few good
after-school alternatives are available, our Clubs provide a
safe social setting that is ideal for the full realization
of chess' educational and developmental benefits.
Chess instructors may be the first adults the children have
known who are consistently encouraging and supportive of
their efforts to succeed academically and socially. Because
our Clubs are open to students throughout their
public-school education, many students and their instructors
work together over several years and develop a strong bond,
which is an immeasurable benefit of our program.
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Renaissance
Knights makes it easy for you to provide chess to your
students. We work out a custom schedule and price plan with
each school. Then, our staff provides a Renaissance Knights
flyer for approval. After the flyer is
approved we print the necessary copies and deliver them to
the school for distribution.
Renaissance
Knights offer low
cost and free
programs to Public Schools classified as Title I in the Chicagoland
area. In these schools, more than 60% of the students are
eligible for free or reduced cost lunch (an indicator of
socio-economic disadvantage). The majority of these
students are African-American or Hispanic, live in poor
neighborhoods and attend schools that rarely offer extra
academic assistance or extra curricular activities. Our
screening process allows use to carefully chose schools for
this program based on their need and willingness to
incorporate the program into the culture of the school.
Schools and teachers wanting to
implement Chess-In-The-Classroom or an After-School Program should
contact Sheila Heiser at 847-526-9025 or by e-mail:
juniorknights@aol.com. |
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 We
have
partnered with the Kasparov Foundation to utilize their three-volume curriculum,
titled Teaching Chess Step by Step. The materials take into account children’s
educational psychology, the importance of entertainment in the learning process,
as well as the methodology of professional chess training and it’s impact on
students academic and life skills.
In his
foreword, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, Chairman of the Kasparov
Chess Foundation notes that, "In an age when information is being created at
rates well beyond that of any other era, it is not enough to assimilate that
information; it must be processed in a highly intelligent way to meet the
demands of living in a complex world. The children being taught chess today will
be able to better understand this information and make better decisions for the
rest of their lives."
The benefits of
chess for children are enormous -- the ability to visualize moves and patterns
in their minds, to create plans, to focus their thoughts and energies, to solve
problems as they occur, to apply sets of knowledge in dynamic and creative ways.
All these skills are transferable to other academic fields. No other environment
challenges children to perform the intensive type of thinking that chess
requires. |
