"It is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do it with ten blunt axes."
Edsger Dijkstra

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THADDEA 

Thaddea is a former student of mine that- at the time this was filmed- had an I.Q. of approximately 80. The significance of this is: For a young lady that had difficulty with mathematics and reading due to the lack of comprehension, sequential and problem solving skills was able to demonstrate a 17 move Grandmaster game and even explains the reasoning for the played out moves- just as she subsequently began to do in relation to her mathematics, reading, and even sentence structure. She began to experience more success socially and just seemed to grow more as a human being. I "sharpened" Thaddea's spirit and mind with a teaching tool that appealed to her learning modality, as it would to millions of other children.  Chess was that bridge to helping her get that one step closer to success.

This video presents Thaddea competing against Mr. Todd Ray, our Principal. She clearly demonstrates higher order thinking and this is evidenced by her ability to formulate a basic checkmate in its early form of understanding. Also, notice how she is able to offer explanation as to why the game is over. The clear and unarguable idea at work here is that the process that she is engaging in is in direct relation to the same higher order thinking skills needed and involved in mathematics, reading, and writing- to name a few. Why not "sharpen" what the State expects children to learn by using the one of the most proficient teaching tools we have in order to reinforce what is necessary?

Note: Thaddea has since moved on to public school and once told me that the reason she went back to public school was because of chess. That was a great moment for me, as I'm sure it was for her.