Mikhailo Lomonosov said that "mathematics puts the mind in order." What about the trendy mental arithmetic today?
The Turkish researcher Halit Shen came up with a unique technique a quarter of a century ago. Today there are already more than five thousand centers for training this wisdom, located in 5 dozen countries of the world.
Race against the calculator
Children who know mental arithmetic seem to be geeks around them - after all, they easily juggle multi-digit numbers in their minds: they add, subtract, divide, multiply in literally seconds. That is why they are invited to TV shows, they are boasted to their acquaintances. But do not think that mental arithmetic is needed only to satisfy parental ambitions. After all, according to the teachers of such schools, quick mental arithmetic is just a "side effect" of learning. The purpose of the technique is much broader. And it can be useful not only for techies, but also for humanities.
Knitting needles and knuckles
The founder of the method was inspired by ancient Chinese abacus, known for over 5 thousand years. In the Celestial Empire, this device is called abacus, in Japan - soroban. By the way, in the Land of the Rising Sun to this day they are used to teach oral calculations in elementary school.
Promotional video:
Abacus for mental arithmetic is a rectangular frame with rows of spokes representing units, tens, hundreds, and so on. Each knitting needle has 5 bones, divided along the entire length by a crossbar. It is supposed to count from left to right, that is, to get a two-digit number, you must first put off tens with your left hand, and then with your right hand - units. Over time, hand movements are brought to automaticity.
Imagine
When the child is good at calculating on the abacus, he moves on to the next stage. Before the eyes of the young mathematician, only the image of the scores (the so-called mental map) remains. Looking at her, the child learns to move the knuckles not in reality, but in imagination. Then the need for this card disappears, and then the children only imagine the abacus in their minds. At this stage, not only fine motor skills, visual memory and speed of reaction develop, but also imagination, fantasy, intuition. The entire training takes 10 steps, each of which lasts 2-3 months. The entire course can be completed in 2–3 years.
Logic and images
Mental arithmetic, according to the developer of the method, allows you to activate both hemispheres of the brain, while forming stable connections between them. It is believed to help the brain develop more harmoniously. As you know, the left hemisphere is responsible for our logic, and the right - for figurative thinking. Accordingly, the technique, in which both hands are first involved (and therefore both hemispheres of the brain), and then also the imagination, develops not only logic and the ability to perform mathematical calculations, but also the ability to think creatively, non-trivial.
By developing both hemispheres of the brain synchronously, the child becomes more attentive and self-confident, it is easier to remember any material that will be useful to him in his studies in all subjects. And in life too.
To grandchildren and grandmothers
It is better to start learning mental arithmetic from 4 to 12 years old, when the brain is most plastic. However, this technique will not be useless for adults, especially the elderly. After all, this is one of the ways to prevent senile dementia.
Classes are held 1–2 times a week. The group should be no more than 10 people. The lessons are built in a playful way. Kids have the opportunity not only to count, but also to move, draw, guess puzzles and puzzles. After all, if the child is hard or not interested, there will be no sense in classes. Therefore, such courses should be taught only by certified teachers and psychologists. But it's still better to attend the first trial lesson first (in many schools it is free). The child will like it and you will be fine, but if not, send your child to a music school or chess, the benefit from this will be no less.
Expert opinion
Behind
Psychologist Marina Bogomolova:
- Learning to count as a fun game is better for developing motivation than something boring and serious. It is also useful to have a gradual transition from operating with material objects to counting in the mind, which allows you to harmoniously transfer the skill to other activities.
Against
Associate Professor of the Russian State Humanitarian University, Candidate of Economic Sciences Mikhail Gladkov:
- The method is quite controversial, since it is mainly aimed at obtaining a computational result, and not at solving a problem. Trainees may lose understanding of the meaning of actions. Subsequently, problems may arise with logical constructions and solving equations. In any case, this is a non-universal technique.
Elena Nechaenko