Math Teachers Stage a Calculated Protest Over Calculator Use in Elementary Classrooms WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 3, 1986 – While thousands of math educators gathered inside the Sheraton Washington and Shoreham hotels for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) annual meeting, a small group of dissenters took their argument to the sidewalk. Approximately 20 protesters, led by retired Oklahoma math teacher and textbook publisher John Saxon, picketed outside the conference venue. They carried signs bearing slogans such as "The Button's Nothin' Til the Brain's Trained" and "Beware: Premature Calculator Usage May Be Harmful to Your Child's Education." The target of their protest was an NCTM policy recommendation encouraging "the integration of the calculator into the school mathematics program at all grade levels in classwork, homework and evaluation." The policy further stated that "at each grade level every student should be taught how and when to use the calculator." Saxon and his fellow picketers argued that allowing calculators in elementary classrooms would undermine students' motivation to learn basic arithmetic. "I know how my thought process worked as a child," Saxon said. "If I could use a short cut, I would save my homework and go home and do it on the calculator. There was no sense doing it laboriously. We've got to make the use of a calculator in elementary school a no-no." Penny Brindley, a teacher from Woodbridge High School in Prince William County, joined the protest, adding that students already arrive with calculator proficiency. "I've never met a kid who didn't know how to use a calculator — that's not something we have to teach," she said. Brindley permits her high school students to use calculators but occasionally teases them about their dependence on the devices. The NCTM, which represents approximately 40,000 members nationwide, maintained that calculators should complement, not replace, fundamental math skills. John A. Dossey, president-elect of the council, clarified the organization's position. "We're talking about using the hand calculator after the child knows math facts," he said. "Children in a modern society have to learn to use modern tools." The council's policy recommendations, while non-binding, carry significant influence among textbook publishers and educators across the country. Protesters acknowledged that their demonstration might not reverse the policy but hoped it would encourage elementary teachers to think critically before adopting calculators in their classrooms. "I feel the most favorable outcome would be that the teachers would be encouraged to stand by their good sense and ignore such recommendations," said Stephen Hake, a teacher from El Monte, California. "We want those teachers to exercise the pocket veto." The pun was intentional. Pocket, as in calculator. As in keeping them there.
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