Survey posted 2000-09-12 16:16 by Andy Selle.

Contribute ideas to surveys by sending a mail to survey@ticalc.org.

All right. I was going to stay out of this, but I just had to say this. In Japan and Europe (I think), relatively early (high school?), it is decided who will go on to college, and who won't. I beleive that those people who are going to be engineers and scientists should learn to do math without calculators (except maybe scientific ones). Why? Because there are often things that, while a calculator can solve an equation, more understanding of the equation can be attained by doing it by hand.
However, future janitors and McDonalds salespeople (no offense; these people are vital to society), should not be forced to learn these things.

That is just my opinion, and you're free to disagree with it.

i cant remember if Plato or Aristotal said this but, in the ideal government (meaning the all of a community not its leaders) would have pupils exposed to all jobs and the best for that persons natural abilits should be dertermend and he/she trained for only that job. That person should do only that job until he/she is unalbe to continue then he/she sould be able to retire and be provide for by his replacements as he had done for his predicessors. The only fault is the human element of illogic.

now there is my 8^(1/3) cents as someone elses has stated

I have a sort mixed opinion on this one.

I think that graphic calcs should only be used for Algebra 2 and higher. I also agree with a comment a long time ago on page one somewhere that said, "anything below Trig is pointless" :). Even though i am still in Algebra 2...

On the other hand, if you are in middle school or something, i think it's ok for you to use a calculator like a TI-30 or the like to calculate hard averages like: 9276.825403764 180456209 1873 -219764 976; or to find mathematic things in Science classes.

just my mean{-46,66,24,-15,-25,8} cents.

You people are all morons! The survey was not "Do you think GRAPHING calculators should be used in all math classes"!! It was "Do you think CALCULATORS should be used in all math classes"!! You must remember that even those cheap 15 button solar-powered calcs you get free from the bank is still a calculator. sure, up until about 5th grade (depending on the school) you do everything in your head, but that is when you are still learning the basics. Besides, most elementary students, CHOOSE not to use a calculator. So, the point to my rant is that, yes, a student should have the option to use a regular calc in math, no matter what subject he is in.

Calculators should be used in ALL algebra ii and above classes, but never below (for the sake of learning the basics).
Those who say that people want to preserve their skills are woefully unaware of the imperfect world surrounding them. If there is an easier way, 90% of people will take it.
The challenge is to accept this, and upgrade curriculums in such a way that a ti-8x/9x can't do the job alone, but needs actual human, mathematical prowess.

there are no calculators at Berkeley

I think that calcs should be used depening on the class. Before algabra II only simple calcs' that do the basics. After that then we'll talk. I used to be dependant(sorry) but snaped out of it in 4th grade. :) Now I do NOTHING on my calculator unless I can write out EVERYTHING by hand there and then. I think a competency test should be administered by the teacher at the beginning of the year (like my teacher) to decide to let the CLASS use them or not. It doesn't bother MATH students, only calculator students.

I think that the only programs used should be the ones that you prgm. your self. (except ASM games because I only know basic:) I made many mods. like polar->XY or XY->polar on the TI-89. Only ONE STEP! These prgms. are the most useful in my opinion. Make the calc better not smarter. EX: the all to common QUADRATIC prgm going around in alg I is used to bypass basic skills but for algII+ users it is used to save time not a cheap underhanded way out of learning the "multiplication tables" of algabra.