From the article. Wise words…
"Children should play chess and listen to Mozart for pleasure and as an antidote to the widespread addiction to digital technology and social media sites.
“Parental encouragement of their offspring should stretch beyond concerns about test marks to a love of what it means to be civilised and that includes Mozart and chess and lots of other things.”
I find the first quote somewhat amusing, as many people I know (and not just children) carry their “addiction to digital technology” into their chess. I rarely see people analyzing games anymore – they just go and put the game on their computer and let it analyze for them.
If equated to art and music, then inserting chess into the curriculum will be even harder as schools have cut back on art and music in order to provide time to be in compliance with the testing regimes that the states require in the schools. IIRC, there was a study done a few years ago showing that involvement in music studies improve academic performance and test scores. The goal was to help protect music programs in the schools, but with limited success. There are a number of studies that are contrary to this one from the UK. Which studies will prevail will depend on the low acumen of the political establishment which evaluates many issues based on how it impacts their electability and campaign funds.
My understanding is that the no child left behind testing that came into education in the early 2000’s has lessened for a variety of reasons. Things like music, art and chess can help to create a more well rounded, critical thinking adult. Admittedly, this is not what all political leaders want. Regardless of what the studies “prove” as to chess and academic ability, if we make the experience fun, people are more likely to stay with it for a lifetime.