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A comment on Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom. Parent comment

Re:Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in... by graemep on Thursday April 02, 2026 @01:11PM (#47617178)
That is poor teaching. My kids were almost always allowed calculators (always after the age of 8 or 9) and they can do all that and a lot more (my older daughter is an electronics engineer, in R & D).

For one thing you do not need to do much arithmetic to do algebra, for another estimating and getting a feel for numbers is not the same skill as learning a bunch of arithmetic techniques. No one is going to do long division while shopping.

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Re:Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in... by FarmerPotato on Thursday April 02, 2026 @03:25PM (#47619021)
Um... there's always exceptions.

I can keep enough digits in my working memory to do long division in the grocery aisle.

I also compulsively factor numbers on license plates..

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