“what would happen if power was out”
That very thing happened as I was making a purchase at the cash register. Sad to say this is a true story.
Power went out.
The cute 16something yr old girl clerk valiantly tried to figure out my bill - long-hand. But she got stumped.
She hollered out to her fellow girl clerk, “How much is 3 X 5?”
Fellow girl clerk hollered back, “I don’t know, but I think it’s the same as 5 x 3”
Funny yes, but still a cold shudder ran down me knowing these kids are our future.
I am all for iPads replacing administrators in education.
Extra bonus - iPads run on batteries.
“She hollered out to her fellow girl clerk, “How much is 3 X 5?”
Fellow girl clerk hollered back, “I don’t know, but I think it’s the same as 5 x 3””
The current generation was brought up on calculators.
And this is the result. They DON’T know their math facts.
What won’t they be learning if they only learned from a computer that YOU have no control of the the content of?
Talk about a nation of drones. Emontionally crippled drones.
Specific to the article, I’m on the fence on these devices for kids. Up until 10th grade, we weren’t allowed to use calculators for anything. Once we got into trigonometry and calculus, you almost had to have one. The idea of using calculators for basic algebra and other early arithmetic is silly, and I believe it reinforces laziness on the part of the kids as evidenced by your example.
If they want to give kids iPads in kindergarten, fine, but not on the taxpayers’ dime. College-aged kids are required to have computers before matriculation, but the majority of colleges in this country do not provide them. The same should be for younger kids. If they’re going to mandate it, it should be put up for a referendum by the districts so that parents can chime in.