Calculators for math?

[Sealed]

How many of you let your kids do their math with calculators.....once they understand the concept.

Thanks! ~~Anne :)

[NewWorldOrder]

I don't let my 8 year old. Not yet. My highschooler is doing the advanced maths, and she has to use a calculator.

[terrilynn]

My boys were allowed to use calculators once they got into calculus in HS only because a calculator was required by the teacher. I have been in stores when a cash register was not working and the teenager and sometimes even a older adult could not calculate my change and count it back to me. I had to tell them what they owed me. This is a small example of kids and some adults becoming too dependant on machines to do the work for them.

[NewWorldOrder]

My boys were allowed to use calculators once they got into calculus in HS only because a calculator was required by the teacher. I have been in stores when a cash register was not working and the teenager and sometimes even a older adult could not calculate my change and count it back to me. I had to tell them what they owed me. This is a small example of kids and some adults becoming too dependant on machines to do the work for them.

It's really interesting you said that. My daughter works for a homeschool book store. Her employer will not let her use a calculator to calculate change. She must count it back down too the penny. :lol2 All the employees have to do that. I love that!

[Sealed]

OK. This is what I THOUGHT you all might say! My HS son isn't using one either.

I was wondering about this b/c my daughter's (in PS) 3rd grade teacher told me in our conference yesterday that when the kids understand the concept then she gives them caluclators to use, and that she wants them to use them at home, too. WHY? Because she said they get to use calculators on the TCAPS! To save time I guess?! Who knows, anyway, I do not let her use one at home.

When I was a new nurse in ICU, my mentor would not let me use a caluclator to calculate the dosages/drip rates for the IV meds my patients were on! Boy I was a nervous wreck for awhile.

[NewWorldOrder]

:doh That's unbelievable! 3rd graders should not be using calculators whether they understand the concept or not. And that they are using them to pass a test is even more :doh. The only way they will truly grasp the "concept" is to do it without the added help, and use their brains. :hug I'm sorry your daughter has such a lazy teacher; that's what this sounds like to me, laziness.

[lisaann]

:doh That is awful! :tsk

Cudos to you for making her do her homework without the calculators! :thumb This teacher isn't doing these kids any favors. :tsk

[terrilynn]

:doh That's unbelievable! 3rd graders should not be using calculators whether they understand the concept or not. And that they are using them to pass a test is even more :doh. The only way they will truly grasp the "concept" is to do it without the added help, and use their brains. :hug I'm sorry your daughter has such a lazy teacher; that's what this sounds like to me, laziness.

Unfortunately it is really not the teachers fault. Money the schools get from the government is based on the test scores (No child Left Behind). So teachers are under a tremendous amount of pressure to make sure their students do well on these standardized test.

[NoTomorrow]

I know that it sounds really bad that they allow and encourage the use of calculators on tests such as the TCAPS. People think it would give such an advantage to a student. However, most of the TCAP questions are not straight computation questions, but are more conceptual in nature. As a matter of fact, the testing company does research on the use of calculators on TCAPs. They purposefully design their tests so that calculators do not provide an advantage to those students who use them. In other words, it doesn't help or hurt the child to use a calculator on TCAPS. So, if it doesn't give kids an advantage, then I wonder why teachers push kids to use the calculator so much?

In the old days, the TCAPS had a computation section that you didn't get to use a calculator on. That really helped identify kids who didn't know how to perform basic arithmetic. Why it disappeared, I'm not sure.

[NoTomorrow]

Just some interesting quotes I came across:

Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend upon their slates which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write. Teacher's Conference 1703

Students today depend upon paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper? Principal's Association 1815

Student Today depend too much upon ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil. National Association of Teachers 1907

Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink, they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education. The Rural American Teacher 1929

Students depend upon these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib, not to mention sharpening their own quills. We parent must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the determint of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant. PTA Gazette 1941

Ball point pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American virtues of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Businesses and banks will never allow such expersive luxeries. Federal Teachers 1950.

Today's students depend too much on calculators, computers, . . . From educators, not so long ago.

Calculators have their place. Should kids learn the basics? Yes. Should a student have to calculate the square root of 127 by hand? Probably not, but they should have a deep understanding of the concept of a square root which they can develop with the aid of a calculator and a good teacher.

Making change is often the example given as to why people need to do things by hand. Soon, we will be living in a cashless society. I'm not sure that's the greatest argument. Do you realize how long the lines at Wal-Mart would be if we had to wait for everyone's bill to be totalled by hand and everyone's change to be calculated by hand?

Once kids have mastered the basics including decimals, fractions, and integers, and have started pre-algebra, then I am a strong believer in using technology to assist them in their learning. But, if they don't know the basics, then algebra and beyond won't come easy to them. So really, elementary school probably is too young to use a calculator on a regular basis, but that doesn't mean you should what until calculus to use calculators.