Calculators and learning

On the other hand, we have kids here who are high school graduates and can't count change without the computer telling them how to do it! VERY frustrating to be stuck in a checkout line because the computer blinked, and the cashier can't figure out how to make change. The first calculator for public use came out in 1977, that I know of. It was a TI, and was the size of a sheet of typewriter paper. Only 4 functions, and it cost $100! We were allowed slide rules, but the basic repitition of multiplication tables ended at 2nd grade for us. After that, if you did not know the basics, you were held back until you did. When my kids went to school, math was so firmly emphasized that they all had to know the basics, including multiply and dividing fractions and decimals, changing decimals to other bases, etc by the end of 5th grade, or you got held back. Computer lab started in 6th grade, computer basics was mandatory by 8th grade, and by 9th grade all written assignments were required to be done on the computers. Entire classes were computer based and modularized, so the kids who understood how to use the computers well could easily complete 8 or more semester classes in the first 90 days of school. They seemed to retain it, and each module built on the one before it, so the retention was increased. Then the state stepped in, and said that the computerized classes did not meet the mandated teaching requirements of interaction with the students, so they were discontinued, and the students went back to being bored. -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Seth Morabito Sent: Friday, March 01, 2013 2:30 PM To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts Subject: Calculators [was: Re: Raspberry Pi] * On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 02:05:30PM -0800, Chris Tofu <rampaginggreenhulk at yahoo.com> wrote: Out of curosity, why? I certainly wish I could have had a calculator in class when I was in school, it would have made math much less tedious. I come from the awkward in-between era when calculators existed, but were not yet permitted in the classroom, or (God forbid!) on tests. My most unpleasant memories of math from grade school through high school were arithmetic. The pointless drudgery and tedium of calculating rote answers on paper or in my head, instead of using my brain to solve REAL problems, put me off math until college. When I discovered what a joy algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus were, I was even more angry at the years I spent doing times tables, addition, subtraction, and multiplication when a tiny machine could have freed me up to care about the more interesting stuff. Personally, I say every kid should be armed with a basic scientific calculator from the moment they start learning. Ban arithmetic and teach the fun stuff from the get-go. You'll get more engineers that way! :) -Seth ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2641/6139 - Release Date: 02/28/13 ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2899 / Virus Database: 2641/6139 - Release Date: 02/28/13