As with all other things in life, it is important to maintain a balance in the use of calculators in the classroom. The use of calculators should be prohibited at the primary level since that is the stage when kids absorb the basic mathematical understanding and skills, hence mental maths and/or manual calculations should be used at this stage. They might be allowed to use the calculators to learn how they operate but during the study of mathematics they should be own their own.
Of course as kids progress and their grade and level, and exhibit sufficient mental capabilities; the use of calculator and other devices should be gradually allowed. This is equally necessary since at this stage the students need to learn other skills and would certainly like to speed up the process and not waste much time in doing manual calculations alone.
Another thing I would like to add is that though this seems very good as a theoretical advice, it may not be possible for an individual teacher or even a group of teachers to implement it at their workplace when the trend is usually the reverse. Hence this requires sustained efforts and an mixed approach where kids are taught mental mathematics and skills alongside the calculators. This can be done by
- Devoting time to train children in manual maths
- Organizing competition at classroom level on manual maths
- Giving recognition to such skills by way or prize or honour
These activities can be carried out at smaller levels and would certainly go a long way to ensure that the future generations do not become a puppet of calculating machines but only use them wisely for their own good.
