I’ve heard it said that teaching is far more effective when done by example rather than ‘lessons’, and today I had a powerful confirmation of this view. In the morning I was on the exercise bike for an hour whilst my son was watching a DVD. And then in the afternoon I won our weekly race in Staples for a change.
My son just couldn’t believe it because children are supposed to be faster than their parents. And when I ascribed my victory to all the training I’ve been doing his first reaction was to insist that I stop. His second idea was that he should start whilst I stop and finally he wanted me to teach him the ancient Chinese stuff. There followed some coaching in basic relaxation exercises (arm swings, knee circles etc) after which he wanted to race again. ‘Too soon’, I told him.
What was fascinating about this experience was how strongly motivated he became when confronting a real life problem (ie running faster than his father). And this may be the hook for excellence in any field.
Hi Nigel,
I guess the same is true of chess. To learn you must be “taught a lesson” by a better (prepared?) opponent rather than relying on DVDs and books. There’s no replacement for experience.
But come on Nigel, your the dad so next week let your son win
Best,
Mike
By: mq1982 on October 25, 2009
at 9:37 pm
Hi Nigel:
Can you please explain the “Staples” reference … which links to a real estate listing in your post?
Here in the States, Staples is a chain of office supply superstores. Perhaps something got lost in the trans-Atlantic translation as I cannot imagine you and your son racing between the shelves filled with cartons of envelopes, paperclips and glue….
Rocky
By: Rocky Humbert on October 26, 2009
at 1:22 am
Mike, Well next week I’ll ease off a bit as long as he also trains hard, but the opportunity to link effort with reward seems too good to miss!
Rocky, Ah, thanks for pointing out my mispaste. Yes it is the office chain and it’s a perfect place for indoor racing on a Sunday. We’ve tried garden centres but they tend to be better during the week.
By: ND on October 26, 2009
at 7:41 am
Nigel:
Ah Ha! It’s the good old Staples “Paper Chase”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paper_Chase
This presents limitless variations for experimentation: If you are too fast, you can try racing with increasing numbers of reams of paper on your shoulders. And, while we’re on the subject of handicapping, don’t forget the handicapped version: which is to race around the store in a desk chair with wheels!!
By: Rocky Humbert on October 26, 2009
at 5:03 pm
Postscript: After practicing the world’s most popular exercise (Chinese state approved arm swinging) Sam drew all four races with me today. So at 7 he’s becoming a huge fan of chi kung, and now remains the problem of how I can interest him in chess.
By: ND on October 27, 2009
at 11:21 pm
Nigel, I’ve always been an avid surfer and I wanted my kid to enjoy the waves as much as I do. Many of my buddies forced their sons to surf and they got burned out.. I saw that and decided to never press the issue and just let things be where surfing was the main course and my son saw that He once even took a 4 month break when he was 8 and I never said a thing. To break the 4 month break, I had some kids that were 2 years older than my son who surfed I took them surfing at our beach, and my son saw us out having fun, so he paddled out. He never really stopped surfing after that. Peer group pressure gets such good results
By: masteroftheuniverse on October 28, 2009
at 3:38 am
Jeff,
Thanks for the idea, I might look for a chance to try it. I think he’d get a lot out of chess and the opportunity for structured play it offers.
By: ND on October 28, 2009
at 6:51 am