News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Jack Weeks donated 93 chess sets to fourth graders at Sisters Elementary School last week. Weeks leads a chess program at the school that attracts as many as 40 students at a time.
Every fourth grader at Sisters Elementary School got an early Christmas present last Friday. It wasn't the latest electronic gadget or video game. In fact, the gift they received is one of the most ancient of man's games.
Each of the 93 fourth graders received a chess set from their mentor in the classic game, retired school counselor Jack Weeks.
For the past couple of years, Weeks has been offering one hour of chess instruction per week in each fourth grade classroom.
"I teach all the children how to play in the classroom as part of the curriculum," Weeks told The Nugget.
He also leads a lunchtime chess club, which has caught on in a big way. On Friday, before the kids got their big surprise, some 40 of them played at lunch.
"They're not at a point where you see a lot of checkmates," Weeks said. "They feel a minor success in capturing a piece."
Many of the youngsters have developed a passion for the game, despite its forbidding reputation.
"I think chess has a reputation with adults that you have to be highly intelligent and that it's a brainy game - which it can be," Weeks said. However, he noted, chess "has something for everyone."
Children don't carry inhibitions about their ability to learn the game that many adults do.
"They don't realize it can be difficult," Weeks said.
Yet when that difficulty emerges, it can be beneficial to the students. Weeks, who learned the game at age 32, noted that advanced students who may not be challenged in all their class work can find an endless challenge in chess.
"Here they can get stumped forever," he said.
The gift sets consisted of a vinyl sheet for a board, which can be rolled up and stored in a tube. Each student got a bag of chess pieces. In Clay Warburton's class, a parent crafted cloth bags for the chess pieces.
Weeks was quick to note that he was not alone in making the donation. MacKenzie Creek Outfitters, Garden of Eden and the Sisters Parent Teacher Community (SPTC) group all contributed unsolicited help in purchasing the sets.
Weeks said he wanted to make sure that all the students who were learning the game had a set at home.
"Some of the kids don't have a chess set at home. I have kids say they'd like to teach their mom or they'd like to play their brother," Weeks said.
Parents might benefit from learning the ancient game as well - if they can get past the intimidation factor of being beaten by their 10-year-olds.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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