Reply to Abacus class and for how long?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A friend tried to convince us to join their soroban class when my kids were little, but I didn’t think it was a good use of time.

It does increase calculation speed and accuracy, but if you think of math as a mix between computation skills (522-93=429) and reasoning/problem solving skills (what is the ideal pen shape for a cow if you have x lengths of fence and want to maximize area), then computation skills are much less important. I don’t think fast arithmetic is as worth practicing as good problem solving skills, persistence, and being able to set up the right  math question. I do think that being good at arithmetic is helpful because it leaves more brain space for reasoning, but I don’t like soroban because it excludes all the reasoning and just concentrates on arithmetic speed.

It also requires a narrow view of calculation. When my kid sees “18x5”, I want them to see “50 + 40” or “9x10” and “100 - 10” as possible ways to solve, because that type of number sense will help them be flexible when they see binomials and other algebraic expressions.  [/quote]

This is OP.  Thank you for sharing your perspective!!  I agree with everything you said about what’s more vs less important.  I have a 5th grader who is overall solid at math, but when he makes mistakes, they’re mostly calculation errors, such as “48 divided by 8 is 9” or “102 minus 30 is 62”.  Then he beats himself up for his “silly mistake” and shuts off.  He didn’t do abacus and I wonder if he would’ve benefited, which is in part why I’m considering this class for my 5 year old.  I 100% agree that problem solving skills are more important than computational skills, but that being good at the latter gives you more space to focus on the former.

I’m thinking maybe my 5 yo can do abacus for just a few years, say, until 2nd grade?  Kindergarten & 1st grade math are mostly about developing number sense and basic arithmetic skills, anyway.[/quote]

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