Abacus school

Abacus or abaco refers to calculations, especially the subject of direct calculations, using Hindu numerals without the help of the abacus (an instrument for calculating).Abacus school is a term applied to any Italian school or tutorial after the 13th century, whose commerce-directed curriculum placed special emphasis on mathematics, such as algebra, among other subjects. These schools sprang after the publication of Fibonacci’s Book of the Abacus and his introduction of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. In Fibonacci’s viewpoint, this system, originating in India around 400 BCE. and later adopted by the Arabs, was simpler and more practical than using the existing Roman numeric tradition. Italian merchants and traders quickly adopted the structure as a means of producing accountants, clerks, and so on, and subsequently abacus schools for students were established. These were done in many ways: communes could appeal to patrons to support the institution and find masters; religious institutions could finance and oversee the curriculum; independent masters could teach pupils. Unless they were selected for teaching occupations that were salaried, most masters taught students who could pay as this was their main source of income.

Abacus schools were significant for a couple of reasons:

Firstly, because mathematics was associated with many professions, including trade, there was an increasing need to do away with the old Roman numeral system which produced too many errors. The number of Roman characters a merchant needed to memorize to carry out financial transactions as opposed to Hindu-numerals made the switch practical. Commercialists were first introduced to this new system through Leonardo Fibonacci, who came from a business family and had studied Arabic math. Being convinced of its uses, abacus schools were therefore created and dominated by wealthy merchants, with some exceptions. Sons could now be trained by the best and brightest teachers to take over their family business and the fortunate poor had more access to a variety of vocations. Morality also played a role in determining the school attendance of commoners.

...
Wikipedia