On April 9-10, 2019, Liu Jianhua, Chairwoman of the World Association of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic and the Chinese Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association (hereinafter referred to as the CAMAA) and Wang Yili, Vice Chairman of the CAMAA, led a joint research group of seven members dispatched by the National Institute of Education Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the NIES) to Cixi City, Zhejiang Province to inspect the education and teaching work of the abacus and mental arithmetic experimental zone.
On the morning of April 9, the research group first came to Cixi No. 3 Experimental Primary School. They observed the students’ education and training with the help of multimedia, and listened to the report on the education and teaching of abacus and mental arithmetic in Cixi experimental zone. Then, Cixi No. 3 Experimental Primary School, Zhouxiang Town Tianyuan Central Kindergarten and Special Education School made special reports on abacus and mental arithmetic teaching in primary school, pre-school and special education stages. In the end, the research group held discussions with abacus and mental arithmetic teachers and parents, in addition to questionnaires.
On the morning of April 10, the research group came to Minghe Primary School in Guanhaiwei Town. They watched the performance of children’s abacus and mental arithmetic in Minghe Kindergarten, observed the classroom teaching of abacus and mental arithmetic in Minghe Primary School, and listened to the work report of the principal of Minghe Primary School.
The field trip of one and a half days left a deep impression on the members of the research group. Chairwoman Liu Jianhua commented that the education and teaching of abacus and mental arithmetic in Cixi City started early and developed rapidly. It was not easy to do this job for 40 years since the early 1980s. Cixi has cultivated a large number of excellent contestants in its long-term practice. Cixi’s abacus and mental arithmetic competition has been at a high level for a long time. Cixi’s teaching philosophy is advanced, and the three presentations were comprehensive and high caliber, showing a set of scientific and systematic teaching methods. As for the management mode of the experimental zone, the education and teaching work is facilitated by the joint efforts of the municipal government, the finance bureau, the education bureau and other departments. The preliminary work in Cixi experimental zone was solid and effective, with remarkable achievements, and played a leading and demonstrative role in this regard.
Chairwoman Liu Jianhua also put forward specific work requirements for conscientiously implementing the Ministry of Finance’s Opinions on Strengthening the Inheritance and Development of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic and proffered three guidelines for the future development of the experimental zone: Firstly, it is necessary to strengthen the organization and leadership of the experimental zone to make it viable. Secondly, it is necessary to actively encourage scientific research and innovation in the experimental zone to solve the deep-seated problems in its development. Thirdly, it is necessary to further intensify the promotion efforts, so as to blaze a path of popularization and development.
The Cixi City of Zhejiang Province is one of China’s nine experimental zones for abacus and mental arithmetic education and teaching. For a long time, leaders at all levels of the municipal government have attached great importance to abacus and mental arithmetic education and teaching, and regarded this work as an important measure for building the city into a cultural powerhouse. So far, the city has set up a professional teaching and research organization for abacus and mental arithmetic, and trained a large number of high-caliber teachers. The city’s abacus and mental arithmetic teaching has been carried out in all aspects in the pre-school stage, compulsory teaching stage and special education schools. With the goal of “inheriting excellent abacus culture and improving the comprehensive quality of students”, the abacus and mental arithmetic teaching model with Cixi characteristics has gradually taken shape and is becoming one of the national models. [Text by Zhou Limin, Secretary-General of the Cixi Municipal Abacus Association of Zhejiang Province, China]
