This calculator policy is not in place in all math classes, however. The following message was received by Mathematically Correct as the '96-'97 school year began ...
I took my twelve-year-old daughter to her seventh grade orientation today at Horizon Junior-Senior High School in San Diego. I could go on and on about the positive things we experienced during the four hours in which the seventh and eighth graders met with the principal, teachers, and upper level student leaders to allay their fears and put them at ease for next week.
I just wanted to share with you the experience we had in the seventh grade math class. The teacher was young, but this was her seventh year to teach. The statement from the teacher which I most wanted to share with you, however, was this:
Now, about calculators. In seventh grade math we do not use calculators. I want you to continue to do the multiplication and division in your heads. If you bring a calculator to class, I will take it up and will return it to you at the end of the school year. This is very serious; so do not bring your calculators to school.I am very pleased to know that my child--who worked very hard last year to do well in math--will be required to demonstrate what she knows and will have what she knows reinforced through continued practice of those skills, creating a strong foundation that will serve her well as she proceeds to the more difficult and demanding tasks of higher mathematics and science.
As reported by Meg McConahey in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the trustees "...are reflecting a growing backlash among some math educators who say a recent trend in math education toward the teaching of basic skills in the context of broader problems and concepts does not devote enough time to routine equations. The state board of education, in much the same way it called for a return to more traditional ways of teaching reading, two weeks ago also advocated more basic skills instruction in math."
Many consider some use of calculators to be appropriate. For example, Hyman Bass of Columbia University, a strong advocate of the reform math, recently said, "Students should have the basic knowledge and skills of algebra and geometry. This includes the properties of numbers and functions, and good computational skills with them, both with and without calculators, and good judgment about how and when to use the latter." [Notices of the AMS] These comments, however, were with respect to high school students.
On the other hand, state policy that recommends that all students use calculators beginning in kindergarten, and policies that encourage the constant availability of calculators, are squarely against public opinion in California, where a large majority are against encouraging calculator use in the early grades. Unfortunately, the state Framework says, "A reasonable goal is to make calculators available at all times for in-class activities, homework, and tests." [Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools, 1992]
It is the extreme nature of these policies that has precipitated the reaction seen in Sonoma.