My Initial Thoughts on Merlene Math

A couple of months back, my co-worker in the office (who's also a parent) and I were talking over lunch about considering tutorials for our children. He mentioned of MSA located in SM Fairview which is near his house, and about 45 minutes travel from our place. He complained his son is not patient with Math (he he, everybody isn't!) My case is different because my daughter is! I am only worried that whenever I throw her simple Math questions she solves it mentally and answers almost perfectly but when I ask how was she able to arrive with the answer she would just say, "Basta."

I'm not sure but I believe that if you know the answer to a Math problem you have to able to illustrate the solution. If there's such a thing as mental math, it doesn't stay in your mind forever and you need to be able to write it down. I've also asked another co-worker who's a BS Math magna cum laude in UP Diliman with PhD (awaiting dissertation on Hyperfunction) and he shares the same opinion.

When I checked on MSA Academic Advancement Institute's website I learned about Merlene Math which is Singapore Math designed in Philippine context. At first, I thought Singapore Math is hard Math for geniuses. Fortunately, it's not. It uses visual approach to solve math problems. What excites me is that the Merlene Math Enrichment Program may help students not only develop mathematical mastery but also analytical and critical thinkingSo I guess it's just right timing to send my daughter for a Merlene Math tutorial because just recently her teacher noted she's one of the candidates for an upcoming Math quiz bee but she declined. Maybe she's shy. I guess she needs more confidence. And confidence can be achieved if she has mastery of the subject.

I hope she would like it that someone will personally teach her because this will be her first time to have a tutorial. I think an hour per session twice a week (Saturday and Sunday) is perfect as children's attention span is very short.


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