Between Syrian unrest and Michael Phelps achieving the unthinkable......21 medals, the American public school system continues to erode from within. National, regional and local media reports continue to highlight federal budget cuts and a drastic reduction in funding for public school systems.
Every superintendent has the daunting task of keeping their doors open, while working with the budget they are given from the state. Similiar to our national debt, programs have to be reduced or eliminated and corners have to be cut, just to keep things balanced. A tough choice being made is to cancel music in the classroom, as well as other arts programs that actually enhance the child's ability to learn with outside-the-box activities.
Since the school system is having to be resourceful and work within a paltry budget, I have a suggestion on something that can be introduced as an elective course, help improve test scores, reading comprehension, vocabulary and actually be fun, if taught properly. Scrabble in the classroom could be an extremely inexpensive way to provide a competitive and fun atmosphere that fosters learning. The only costs associated with the course would be the bulk purchase of board games, extra lots of game tiles, and speed clocks.
Score sheets can be made in tablet form, much like bingo cards and made for pennies in the school print shop. Lessons can be taught on techniques and strategies on what to do if you have all consonants or vowels. I can envision quizzes being given on 2 and 3-letter words. Children will be at home memorizing their vocabulary lists and Scrabble words.
Teaching games like Scrabble can help students in so many levels and could be a solid alternative to gym class. The best part is that the game would be fun, in a tournament style setting on a monthly basis and different games and exercises could be created in a structured curriculum to actually teach kids some basic techniques that could come in handy when writing essays or short stories, in future classes. Most states have exams that students must take that measure overall performance of the teacher, school and state's learning. Scrabble is a bonafide, cost-effective answer to address the declining scores and reduced budget pitfalls in our education system.
In my world, there is an annual Scrabble tournament for each grade at every school. Each school sends 1 child and 1 alternate to the next round. If there is a disputed word play, during a match, the teacher would look up the answer on Scrabble cheat board. Much like the Little League World Series or the National Spelling Bee, there is a series of tournaments that will eventually determine the National Scrabble champion. Maybe my world is a bit Utopian, but I can dream, right?
