Should students be allowed to use a calculator in school?

Post Reply New Topic

Should students be allowed to use a calculator in math classes?
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 050AACyVCW 





What do you think about using calculators in math classes? During my mother's time, and most of my school education, students were not allowed to use them 

Hi, I'm from Poland, my mother who died in 2015, she learned in the so-called (tehnikum) technical school, some kind of specialized high school, that was less material in one matter and more in other technical stuff a bit more college like 

In my mother's case it was a technical electrotechnical (electrical engineering) technikum, graduates of this type of school was known as technik (technician) for exemple my one of my best friend who had Asperger (i had it too) graduated as "technik informatyk" = IT technician xD 

So when i was young it was forbidden to use calculators in schools it was allowed about in 2000 when i was in middle school. 

So my mom once told my story, that teacher who once forbidden to call him professor even it was a custom in Poland to call High School teacher that way, saying that if they could refer him as Mr. Engineer because it title he hold or simple Mr Teacher. 

And said that they would use paper and pencil and pure math, that they could use, they can use logarithmic sliders, even if it's lame in his opinion, but ministry of education allowed it 

But if they bring "Imperialistic" portable calculator swank how they are awesome, he would put said calculator in their "rectum" soo deep that it would come with their mouth xD
My mom teacher said that they probably wouldn't newer work for in "our Soviet comrade's cosmonautic space programme nor for imperialist American NASA" and they would need calculators. 
My mother's teacher was before 30, but he liked to beat students talking on his lessons or behaving rudely with his ruler on their neck or palms, only a few students ware girls rest of them was boy (I'm a man too)
 My mom said that most girls there was in love with him, that he was so handsome and yet so intelligent and commanding xD 

My mother told me this when I said that I would probably newer found a girlfriend because of I'm Kujon (polish slang word for Nerds) and have Asperger Syndrome (now I'm known that i'm gay even though I do not look like gay I think my mum suspect something xD 
My mum said that some girls like kujon (nerds) that she considered herself to be intelectualist (nerd) herself That she married my dad because he was Intelligent and funny, the only fault was he's short tamper (dad died in 2002) that now after I was diagnosed as Asperger that dad had it too

I've learned all sorts of ways to do calculations without the assistance of a calculator. Drawing triangles and estimating distances. As well as memorizing a basic log table to handle exponential calculations.

Not to mention the ton of trick questions/answers I've seen over the years.

An ordinary trig calculator, perhaps, but certainly not a programmable one.

Calculators are useful tools and have some place in math education. However it is still important for kids to learn how to do math by hand. Calculators don't replace mental math. Calculators are meant to aid with math, not replace having math skills.

Students are allowed calculators for most problems in British secondary schools (11-18), or were when I was there. Obviously, it depends on the problem. If a student needs to give the square root of seven to two decimal places, he could hardly be told not to use a calculator, unless he knows Newton's method and has a lot of time.

Square 2.5 squared is 6.25, so that is a little low
2.6 squared is 6.76
2.7 squared is 7.29

Answer is 2.6

Yes, that is two significant digits and not two decimal places.

There is another method to crank out more significant digits

2. 6 4 5
2 7
4
300
46 276
2400
524 2096
30400
5285 26425

I learned how to do this decades ago so my terminology isn't as precise as someone who is still in school.

I believe they should be a reasonable accommodation for people with learning disorders like dyscalculia & dyslexia. I have those things & using a calc was an allowed accommodation for people with those issues in my high-skewl.