USING CHESS AS A TOOL FOR PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Sociology _______________ by Haroutun Bursalyan Summer 2016 iii Copyright © 2016 by Haroutun Bursalyan All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION To my wife, Micki. v We learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources. The game is so full of events, there is such a variety of turns in it, the fortune of it is so subject to sudden vicissitudes, and one so frequently, after long contemplation, discovers the means of extricating one's self from a supposed insurmountable difficulty.... - Benjamin Franklin The Morals of Chess (1799) vi ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Using Chess as a Tool for Progressive Education by Haroutun Bursalyan Master of Arts in Sociology San Diego State University, 2016 This thesis will look at the flaws in the current public education model, and use John Dewey’s progressive education reform theories and the theory of gamification as the framework to explain how and why chess can be a preferable alternative to teach these subjects. Using chess as a tool to teach the overt curriculum can help improve certain cognitive skills, as well as having the potential to propel philosophical ideas and stimulate alternative ways of thought. The goal is to help, however minimally, transform children’s experiences within the schooling institution from one of boredom and detachment to one of curiosity and excitement. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Goal of Thesis ..........................................................................................................2 Structure of Thesis ...................................................................................................5 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: JOHN DEWEY, GAMIFICATION, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION ..............................................6 3 THE PREPARATION .................................................................................................23 Setting Up and Getting Started ..............................................................................24 Supplementary Benefits of Chess ..........................................................................30 4 INTERDISCIPLINARY ACADEMICS THROUGH CHESS ...................................35 The End Game – Mathematics: 3 ≠ 3 ....................................................................36 The Middle Game – Art and Creativity: Unlimited Possibilities ..........................42 The Opening – History, Geography and Religion: From Elephants to Bishops ...................................................................................................................47 5 LARGER IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION ....................................................51 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................57 APPENDIX A RULES OF CHESS .....................................................................................................60 B CHESS GLOSSARY: TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ................................................66 C UNITED STATES PUBLIC EDUCATION TIMELINE............................................67 viii LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1. White to move and check the black king. .................................................................29 Figure 2. Which side has the material advantage? ...................................................................37 Figure 3. Which side has the advantage? .................................................................................39 Figure 4. 3 ≠ 3 (white to move). ..............................................................................................40 Figure 5. Rook > Queen. ..........................................................................................................42 Figure 6. Edward Lasker vs George Alan Thomas, 1912. .......................................................44 Figure 7. Edward Lasker vs George Alan Thomas, 1912 (continued). ...................................45 Figure 8. White to move and win. ............................................................................................46 ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all of the professors and staff at San Diego State who helped and taught me so much over the past few years. And I express special gratitude to Dr. Choi, who reached out to me the first week of this program and was by my side until the very end. Thank you for all your support, dedication and guidance. It was a pleasure. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. – Benjamin Franklin The Morals of Chess (1799) Think back and try to remember the morning of your first day of kindergarten. Chances are, you were excited about your new adventure. You jumped out of bed, brushed your hair, dressed up in your favorite outfit, slipped on your brand new themed backpack, and walked out of the house with your parent(s) ready to take on the world. You were no longer the same kid you were just a few days prior, who had to go to daycare or stay home with the babysitter and wait until your parents got home from work. No, you were growing up. And part of that growing up was more than just your age; it was what separated you from your parents: knowledge. You were going to school so you could learn all the secrets of the world, just like your parents, who knew everything about everything. After all, what could there be not to like about learning? You had been learning your entire life and there was no better feeling than when you overcame an obstacle. You learned how to walk when you were one, then run and jump and talk. You learned about the different kinds of weather and went outside to look for all the interesting bugs you could find. You were curious about the world around you and you probably even irritated your parents by asking them too many questions when they were trying to rest after a long day. But now that you would be going to school, you could ask all the questions you wanted because your teacher would have all the answers. But then, something changed. First grade was still exciting because you were no longer in kindergarten, and second grade was okay because you felt like one of the older kids. But by third or fourth grade, waking up for school became a burden. Social studies was 2 boring, math was hard, and homework was a waste of time. In just a few years, you had learned to despise school. So what changed? Certainly not your love for learning. You still enjoyed learning all sorts of things. You wanted to learn how to ride a bike, or operate the newest technological gadgets, you learned how to play all sorts of new video games and board games, and you learned how to dribble a basketball. The list goes on. But something did change in those first few years. There was a disconnect between schooling and learning, and that friction only grew coarser with every passing year. Some might argue that the problem with school is that we don’t get to pick what we want to learn, and since the subject matter is forced onto us, we become disengaged with the material. But the problem is not that simple. If that was the only issue, then college classes should be the most exciting time of our lives (and I emphasize “classes” because many students enjoy everything about college except the classes). So even when we get to pick our own major and our own classes, which should be something we are interested in and want to learn, the outcome of the experience doesn’t change. We still find displeasure in going to class, we text during lecture, we don’t complete the assigned readings, and we try to find the fastest route to our target grade, while investing the least amount of time into studying. In addition to this, we must also recognize that some college students don’t even choose their majors based on their interest in the subject, but based on economic factors that steer them into a career field that will give them the best opportunity to be financially secure. This too is a problem, one which stems from larger cultural, economic, and political issues that we face in our society. During my years as an undergraduate, I had difficulty choosing a major because I wanted to focus on something I both enjoyed as well as something that could provide me sustainable income in the future. I finally decided to go with my heart and majored in art (with an emphasis on photography) because it was something I was passionate about. Even then, I along with a host of my fellow classmates, still found displeasure in having to go to class and listen to a lecture.