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Calculators in maths lessons?

idun

By idun
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idun Rookie

idun

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I hear people up in arms about this, and the latest on UK news to day was that calculators would be banned from maths lessons.

Now, this old brain may be misremembering  BUT, I remember having 'aids' in my maths lessons, we had to use log tables and tables for trigonometry. I doubt I could have managed these calculations without. And IF my memory serves, then slide rules could also be used in these calculations.

 

I frankly do not see anything wrong with calculators when used appropriately, so IS there anything wrong with calculators being used in maths lessons?

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Hoddy Rookie

Hoddy

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The people this applies to already have a degree. The test is to be applied before they are accepted on a teacher's training course.

I don't understand where this is coming from; you don't have to be qualified to teach in one of Gove's new academies.

Hoddy
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dave21478 Newbie

dave21478

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[quote user="idun"]

I hear people up in arms about this, and the latest on UK news to day was that calculators would be banned from maths lessons.

Now, this old brain may be misremembering  BUT, I remember having 'aids' in my maths lessons, we had to use log tables and tables for trigonometry. I doubt I could have managed these calculations without. And IF my memory serves, then slide rules could also be used in these calculations.

 

I frankly do not see anything wrong with calculators when used appropriately, so IS there anything wrong with calculators being used in maths lessons?

[/quote]

Log tables etc are an aid to some pretty complex calculations.

However, since the advent of calculators in schools, they are used inappropriately. My last job in UK was as a workshop foreman and I hired two school leavers as apprentices. Both had average / good secondary school grades. Neither could add up a two prices without a calculator. A job sheet would end with a list of consumables and parts used along with their prices - neither of these numpties could add up the total without a calculator. I am not talking about doing it in their head either, they were incapable of doing it given a scrap of paper and a pen. Neither of them could work out change and they were both completely baffled during any fabrication work if I asked them to cut a piece into three equal lengths or something simple like that. Not higher maths, not trigonometry, not calculus, just basic, simple arithmetic that anyone my age or older can do mentally or with paper and pencil for the harder stuff like long division, yet these guys - and to be honest, most other teenagers in my experience, need a gadget to help them.

Its not just UK either, I was in a cafe a wee while back with my nephew. The owners kids (I would guess about 14 years old)were behind the bar while the parent did something else and neither of them could add up the price of a coffee and a can of coke mentally and since they couldnt find a calculator to hand, they were scuppered.

Yet today's education is supposed to better than ever.
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YCCMB Newbie

YCCMB

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A spectacular example of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, perhaps? If the education system hadn't failed some of our more recent graduates quite so badly when it came to ensuring they had a rudimentary grasp of English and Maths, we wouldn't have to worry about ensuring that they were on top of things when it came their turn to educate the next generation.

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Hoddy Rookie

Hoddy

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"You dont need all this teacher training c*ap to be a decent teacher. It is a myth"

I am just pointing out that Gove thinks it's OK to teach without qualifications at the same time as he is raising the level of the entry exam for access to training. It seems rather illogical to me.

Hoddy

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woolybanana Newbie

woolybanana

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[quote user="Hoddy"]"You dont need all this teacher training c*ap to be a decent teacher. It is a myth" I am just pointing out that Gove thinks it's OK to teach without qualifications at the same time as he is raising the level of the entry exam for access to training. It seems rather illogical to me. Hoddy[/quote]

It is so much more complex that that, Hoody. Maybe he will realise that the training is wrong as it stands, better done on the job and with some release and mentoring.

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Rabbie Newbie

Rabbie

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[quote user="woolybanana"]

[quote user="Hoddy"]. I don't understand where this is coming from; you don't have to be qualified to teach in one of Gove's new academies. Hoddy[/quote]

Maybe it is time to demystify teaching. You dont need all this teacher training c*ap to be a decent teacher. It is a myth

 

[/quote]In my life experience I have not yet come across an area of skill where training does not make a person better. While I agree that some people have natural talents for a particular task training always seems to make them even better and helps to weed out those who have no aptitude for the task.

I believe that children deserve the best possible teachers and if training raises the level then it should be provided

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