Kids have fun solving problems

CHENNAI: For an onlooker, the premises of Chettinad Vidyashram school at RA Puram on Sunday wouldn’t have given the impression of a contest venue, as children were happily playing ‘mini’ basket ball or nibling snacks while their parents kept waiting for them under a shamiana. However, had one spent time at the venue, one would have realised that the kids were actually participants in an abacus contest, which required them to solve a set of 100 complex problems.Several little sharp minds got to work every time a whistle sound went off. Strangely, although it was a contest, none of the contestants seemed stressed. The contest, called the SIP Prodigy 2011, the fourth abacus and arithmetic competiton in Tamil Nadu, is conducted by the SIP Academy. “About 750 children between 7 to 14 years participated in the contest in all 11 levels including the three grand master categories. This was almost an assessment of children trained under us,” said EG Praveen, national manager of the academy. While children from the third level were tested in both abacus and mental calculation for five and three minutes respectively, the beginners were tested only in abacus. “This contest determines the speed, accuracy and mental ability of students,” he added. The chief guest of the event, Vijayan, Principal and Correspondent, Zion group of schools, said he was excited to witness the speed at which the children were working out the sums. “Mathematics is not a subject. Unlike other subjects, it makes your brain work,” he said. Every child is a genius by birth and the growth of the brain reaches its peak at the age of four, he added. Dinesh Victor, MD, SIP India Academy was also present at the event.