What is with students in public school and even college relying on a calculator?

I'm guilty of doing this myself. I'm completely useless at maths, and even now I feel the need to whip out a calculator for the simplest of sums. Mostly because I can, and I'm not in an exam or anything which means that I need to work things out for myself. It's just easier to let the calculator do it for you! However, I think that if students are relying on a calculator for everything, then the teacher can't be doing their job properly. I had terrible maths teachers when I was at school, not to mention a class full of people that didn't want to learn and just wanted to make life hell for the teacher.

In the last years of high school and in college, a calculator is absolutely needed. The calculations are far beyond a simple multiplication. On the other hand, there is great benefit in being able to do the simple multiplication and division in your head. It is fast and convenient. djbtol

Okay, I am NOT a math and science person, my major is English Literature and Language and I am can only work with the arts, languages, and humanities. I use a calculator because I can't solve equations to save my life, I am that bad at math. I look at numbers and they freak me out.

I agree that we should avoid calculators for simple and usual maths.. I realised it when i was in University that i was too dependent on calculators, then i twisted and made myself to grab it only when it is really a need, i dun mind doing calculations on paper to overcome this. This is because human brain are smart enuf to do usual calculations and if we use calculators often then our brain will lose its ability to automatically function on maths..I know this is quite hard but please guys/gals..dont depend on calculations coz we have loads of intelligence stored in our brain cells unused..Another tips is we have to remember things like people's birthdays,details and so on so that we have a improvised memory..this is my knowledge generally. Dont be lazy and rev up!

I'm going to tell you why I use a calculator. It is a way to check the work that I have already done. I don't trust myself to do math perfectly because I am human, no matter how simple. It is not a tool to do the math, it is tool to check what I have already done. Granted, I cannot speak for everyone, because there are those who use calculators as not a tool for checking, yet a tool for doing. However, its important to check your work. Granted, its not like I use it to figure 5+5, but once it gets past to a certain point, I tend to whip out to the calculator. It is pretty much the same reason that I use spell check. I know for a fact that my spelling is really not perfect. In fact, it is far from perfect all things considered. Just like my math. There are times where using a calculator is absurd, but there are other times where it is rather justified. About all I can do is simple calculators, but when we get past 12x12 on the times table(remember having to memorize that thing in grade school? I do!), its time for the calculator.

I think one should not use calculators at least until it is graduation. Doing calculations without calculators and other such devices helps an individual in developing his brain. Which is very important for any individual.

I only used a calculator for sums that required things beyond my memory - like working out the square root or the logarythms. :) Once during a chemistry exam I forgot the calculator and I had to mentally calculate a log.. lol.

Hi to all....for me students in public school and even in college they are relying on a calculator, It's because they doesn't know how to compute without a calculator or they must relying so that their computation will be faster.

I was also a student once, and i used a calculator..Because i'm lazy and i do not want to put my head to "hard work" i'm still using it. This doesn't mean that i do not know how to make calculations, but if there is something to make our lifes more easier, why not use it! From time to time i think that we should try to make some calculations in the traditional way only to see if we know how to do it :D

i agree with you silverking actually when i was in high school i also started using calculator and using calculator for every calculation makes our mind slow to compute on its own and we were not allowed to use calculators in exams so with a little difficulty i was able to compute myself and despised the use of calculators and this helped me to score well in my mathematics exam. but now as an engineering student i have to use calculator but now as learned from past i don't use calculator for simple calculations and use only when a precise calculation is needed or when a lot of decimal places are involved and other mathematical entities like sine's and cosines are involved. one should not use a calculator unless its difficult to solve of your own but it can be used as a great verification tool after computing.

necause our heads are filled with to many things to learn times tables lol. that and i hated that but i can add any number with out one.

I graduated high school a little over a year ago and I also noticed how much people needed calculators. I personally didnt need one for simple calculations but it seemed like most people did. I dont blame them though because if you can use it, why not use it? The way technology is growing it seems like our brains are becoming less important. So I dont think it really is a big deal because its inevitable.

I totally agree, as technology progresses we become more and more dependant. I find it absurd that some people in modern societies can't do simple calculations such as additions, subtraction, multiplication and division. We're not talking about advanced algebra, calculus, trigonometry but simple calsulations which everyone should be able to do. I see more and more often people using calculators at supermarkets to see how much they have to spend before reaching the cash register. I would understand if they needed it precise to the cent, but they round up, to the nearest dollar. That is just pathetic. Being in law school I don't have much use for math but I'm still able to do simple mathematic calculations, as well as a generalized knowledge of physics, medicine, biology and chemistry. I'm not saying everyone should, but in a modern society people should be able to do day to day calculations in their heads rather than relying on fallible technology.