Learning center uses abacus to help kids mentally solve math problems

A learning center is teaching kids, aged three to 13 years old, how to learn and better appreciate math with the use of an abacus, a manual computing device, that helps them keep track of numbers and solve math problems with remarkable speed.

The CMA Mental Arithmetic, in Ortigas, Pasig City, adopts abacus training to improve a child’s math skills via the concept of the two-hand, four-finger method in moving abacus beads.

“This system stimulates both sides of the brain. Utilizing physical and virtual abacus, the child develops a photographic memory of the abacus from which he can answer arithmetic problems with considerable speed,” said Anthony R. Esguerra, the learning center’s CEO, who was guest speaker in a recent general assembly of the Foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education (FUSE).

The school, Esguerra said, uses “image abacus” in teaching kids solve math problems. With the constant manipulation of abacus beads, a virtual abacus is imprinted in a child’s brain. With the use of fingers to mentally compute math problems, minors can quickly crunch numbers.

The school trains kids to accurately figure out the answer, through mental computation, to arithmetic problems— like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division— that adults may even find challenging. Under the CMA system, kids are taught the basics of abacus— physical, visual and mental.

“Filipino students can learn the abacus faster than their Asian counterparts because they are more playful and creative,” Esguerra said.

He added that CMA’s abacus-based learning system, which has 16 branches nationwide, removes the fear of numbers, boosts memory power and hones one’s analytical skills.

The after-school, twice-a-week program also aims to train teachers for abacus classes.

Esquerra told the monthly FUSE gathering that plans are afoot to open a program, which originated from Taiwan, for 55 years old and above.

The skills a child learns from the program would greatly help the kid focus more on other subjects, Esguerra stressed,

“We aim to turn math studies into a game and fun-filled exercise, a method that will teach children and adults alike that math is not a
‘scary’ subject, after all.”