If you have young children you may find yourself in the embarrassing position of being unable to help them with their maths homework because of new arithmetic methods.

“But do not despair, you are not alone,” University of Malta mathematician Josef Lauri said, attempting to console parents of children aged eight to 11, who are finding themselves at a loss trying to work out simple math problems in a completely different method.

The Abacus textbook used in these last 10 years in all schools does away with the carry-up addition system and instead promotes counting on the fingers; working additions, subtractions, multiplication and division in a linear manner, rather than in columns; and other complex mental work.

Prof. Lauri believes that after 10 years, the Abacus textbook – introduced by the Education Department in 2005 – has been a failure and should be scrapped.

He has reached this conclusion after seeing his own children fluff and falter and lose their confidence in the subject; even he is constantly baffled.

“I ended up borrowing the teachers’ manual to be able to help them in their homework, and even then I had to read it some five times before I grasped the method,” he said.

Contrary to common belief Abacus is not a mathematical system but merely a textbook authored by Jennie Kerwin and Ruth Mertten. “I am sure they are making lots of money by selling them in Malta.”

Apart from Malta, the same textbooks are used in some schools in the UK, but most of these British schools are ditching it and reverting to the old method.

The Abacus approach tries to get children to understand what they are doing, but Prof Lauri said children found this very confusing because they had to learn different methods of working sums in a linear manner, and then choose the method they want.

I ended up borrowing the teachers’ manual to help my children with their homework... I had to read it some five times before I grasped the method

“The fact that it’s up to the children to choose how to work a sum, will make those who suffer from maths anxiety even more anxious,” he said.

“It’s like when I visit a new city. I don’t want to be given 10 different directions to get to the city centre; I simply want to be told the easiest and most practical one.”

He said students should be encouraged to apply different methods only when they were at a high level and had a good command of the basics. At primary level the focus should be on rigorous training.

“Take Cristiano Ronaldo [the footballer when he heads a ball, he does it without thinking because he’s trained so much. Maths is like that.

“Our job as maths teachers is to make mathematical computations easier: you need to solve the problem quickly so you move on to bigger problems,” he said, quoting Alfred North Whitehead who said the ultimate goal of mathematics was “to eliminate any need for intelligent thought”.

“We don’t want engineers who have to count on their fingers to work a simple sum, otherwise how will they work out the more complex ones.”

Abacus textbooks also do away with learning the multiplication tables by rote.

“This is wrong. It is important to memorise multiplication tables, up to the nine times table, first because a small amount of memory work benefits children cognitively and second because it’s a sure way of ensuring prompt answers,” he said.

He is also worried the Abacus is making parents anxious.

“When I used to take my son to football or my daughter to catechism, I’d hear mothers discussing Abacus.

“We are always harping on how parents should be involved in children’s education... but this new system cuts them off. They feel helpless.”

He was once told by a teacher not to teach his children the carry-up addition method “because it was too easy”.

“Maths should be easy!” he said, insisting that working sums linearly was absolutely difficult.

The textbooks are only used in primary school. From the first year of secondary school, teachers go back to the traditional method. “But by then they would not be strong on basics,” he said.

So is Abacus affecting O level results?

“The cohort of children who started on Abacus will be sitting for their O level now, so we can only start gauging what’s happening,” he said.

Prof. Lauri, who describes maths as “an art” and “a form of poetry”, believes the way the subject is taught to children needs to be re-taught.

“If it were taught as a game more children would love maths. Most people hate maths, but they love Sudoku.”

His daughter is now sitting for her O level. His regret is he did not teach his children the traditional method. “I went along with the Abacus flow and it was a grave mistake.”

His advice to parents is to teach children the traditional column, carry-up method and urge them to learn their times tables by heart.

“I want to say to parents: please do not think you’re stupid if you don’t understand it. It’s not you. It’s the textbook.”

How to cope with Abacus

Duncan Caruana, a primary school teacher, describes the Abacus textbooks as “confusing for children”.

“The problem is in Malta it is being used as a bible rather than a tool.”

The continental system, he said, was moving towards “teachers’ packs”, where the teacher adapted a method particular to the class.

“It is more time consuming, but each school should have its own textbooks, tailor-made for the school. The national syllabus should not be tied to a textbook,” he said.

He holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and cited some Italian schools where maths is taught through discussion.

The main fault of the Abacus textbook is it is not tailor-made for a Maltese context and it does not have examples, just the exercises.

“So parents at home cannot read the example, understand the method and help the child,” he said.

He is trying to address these concerns by allowing parents into class during maths lessons.

“It is important to rope in parents especially in Year 4. That is when it gets so complex for parents that they give up. Children need someone to turn to when they face difficulties with their homework,” he said.

“It’s high time we discussed this.”