Last time, I shared five amazing benefits I’ve gained from eight years of learning the abacus. Today, I want to talk about three downsides that have come from my abacus training. While the abacus has significantly improved my mental math skills and concentration, it’s not without its drawbacks. These drawbacks are not just my experience but also what I hear from many other experienced abacus learners.
1. Messy Handwriting:
The abacus demands both speed and accuracy. For advanced users and competitors, quickly writing answers—sometimes within fractions of a second—is crucial. This often involves using a short pencil or one that feels comfortable in your hand and developing a rapid writing style. I tested various mechanical pencils to find the right fit for my hand, smoothness of writing, and resistance to breaking. I kept two or three of these carefully chosen pencils in my pencil case and used them during abacus practice and competitions.
This emphasis on speed has led to my handwriting often resembling scribbles, making it difficult for my abacus teacher and parents to read. For example, my 4s might look like 9s, my 5s like 6s, and my 0s like 6s. This problem extended to my schoolwork as well, where teachers frequently reminded me to write more neatly. There were times during exams when even though my answers were correct, my messy handwriting led teachers to misinterpret the numbers, resulting in lost points.
Skipping Steps:
Many math teachers require students to show their work or explain their solutions, sometimes marking homework as incorrect or giving only partial credit if these steps are missing. This practice helps identify mistakes and allows teachers to understand students’ grasp of the material.
While I understand the importance of this, I often find myself writing only the final answer, skipping the detailed steps and explanations. Since I can quickly arrive at the solution, writing down each step feels tedious and unnecessary. This habit has unfortunately led to points being deducted on tests and homework, as teachers often need to see the process to fully evaluate understanding. My younger brother and friends, who are also advanced abacus users, face similar challenges.
Over time, I’ve learned that developing the habit of showing my work, even if it seems redundant, is crucial for clear communication and can help avoid misunderstandings in math assessments. Especially, it has improved significantly since I began focusing on problem-solving, such as Competition math.
3. Calculating on Paper Feels Tedious:
Since the abacus uses a different approach for calculations, I find traditional paper methods a bit confusing. With the abacus, I start from the highest place value and work my way down. In contrast, paper calculations typically start from the smallest place value and work up, which feels opposite to the abacus method. Although both methods use the highest place value for division, the need to write out every single step and the different approach make paper calculations seem less exciting.
I’ve developed my own method of calculating from the top place value, and since I get answers quickly this way, adding, subtracting, or multiplying step-by-step on paper feels quite tedious. However, paper calculations were required in my math classes, so I needed to follow their specific method to avoid losing points.
Conclusion:
Mastering the abacus has provided me with remarkable benefits, such as enhanced mental math skills, increased concentration, and greater confidence in mathematics.
However, there are some drawbacks, including messy handwriting, occasional skipped steps, and a tendency to find traditional paper calculations tedious.
These issues can be can be improved with some effort and awareness. For instance, focusing on writing clear numbers, understanding that intermediate steps are part of the final answer, and being patient with paper calculations are all ways to address these issues.
Additionally, problem-solving tasks, which demand thorough thinking and careful consideration, can aid in overcoming these drawbacks. These problems require breaking them down, formulating equations, and exploring various approaches, which can strengthen these skills. For those considering abacus learning, keeping these points in mind can greatly support your child’s journey.
