Abacus for learning skill development
In India, facts suggest that only a little over one-third of all children who enroll in grade 1 reach grade 8. The dropout rate increases alarmingly after class 5. One of the reasons is the lack of interest shown by the children towards academic work.
The lack of interest is primarily due to their inability to:
- Give attention to and concentrate on their work.
- Retain and recall what they have learned.
- Reason logically and think spatially.
- Solve problems and take appropriate decisions.
- Articulate their opinions confidently.
- Compete with others who fare well academically.
It is possible to address this issue and generate interest for studies if we can develop children’s learning skills before the age of 12, or more specifically between 7 and 12 years. The reason is that 75% of the development of the neocortex of the brain occurs during this age. The brain has two hemispheres, the left brain and the right brain. Most children use only the left brain, which provides the ability to analyze information concerning languages and sound. The right side of the brain is focused on thinking, creativity and integration of information. It is vitally important for children to use and stimulate their right brain as well.
Learning to use the abacus tool can help develop the right brain/left brain integration. When children use both hands to move
abacus beads in arithmetic calculations, it stimulates cells in both the brain’s right and left sides. This enhances skills such as visualization, listening, concentration, logical reasoning, memorizing and recalling, along with developing superior mental arithmetic abilities.
Abacus learning programs available today in our country are costly and accessible only to children of economically forward
families who can afford the training. There are hardly any training centers located in rural areas of the country.
The Value Education Trust provides free training in abacus to children belonging to poor and needy families in India. We help them to develop their learning skills and assist them in achieving academic excellence in their studies.
