TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1976
USE OF CALCULATORS IN CLASSROOMS ADVOCATED
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THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS), MR. ARTHUR BROWN TODAY ADVOCATED THE USE OF THE ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR IN THE CLASSROOM.
ADDRESSING THE SPEECH DAY OF LAM WOO MEMORIAL SECONDARY SCHOOL, MR. BROWN SAID, HOWEVER, THAT WHEN THE MODERN STUDENT WAS ALLOWED TO BRING HIS CALCULATOR INTO THE CLASSROOM IT WOULD NOT MEAN THAT IT WAS NO LONGER NECESSARY TO LEARN ARITHMETIC.
+ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH A CALCULATOR IS THAT IT IS VERY EASY TO PRESS THE WRONG BUTTONS AND GET A RIDICULOUS ANSWER.
+THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS OF AVOIDING THIS - EITHER YOU MUST BE SO GOOD AT ARITHMETIC THAT YOU CAN ESTIMATE THE ANSWER ROUGHLY BEFORE YOU DO IT ON THE CALCULATOR, OR YOU MUST BE AGAIN SO GOOD AT ÄRITHMETIC THAT YOU CAN DO THE PROBLEM TWICE IN TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAYS TO ENSURE YOU GET THE SAME ANSWER,+ HE SAID.
IN ILLUSTRATING THE PROGRESS BEING MADE ON THE USE OF CALCULATORS IN SCHOOLS, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SAID THE LONDON G.C.E. BOARD HAD JUST ISSUED A NOTICE THAT FROM 1978 ELECTRONIC CALCULATORS COULD BE USED IN ALL APPROPRIATE SUBJECTS OF THEIR 'A' OR 'O' LEVEL EXAMINATIONS HELD IN BRITAIN UNLESS SPECIFICALLY FORBIDDEN FOR ANY PARTICULAR PAPER OR QUESTION.
+SO STUDENTS MIGHT BE USING CALCULATORS QUITE A BIT IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE,+ MR. BROWN SAID,
SPEAKING ABOUT CHANGES IN EDUCATION, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ASKED PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THESE QUESTIONS +ARE YOU READY FOR ALL THE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN? ARE WE PREPARED TO ADAPT TO THEM, TO ACCEPT CHANGE AND TO MAKE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS AROUND US?+
EDUCATION, HE SAID, HAD BEEN SLOW IN CHANGING TO MEET THESE
CHALLENGES.
+BUT IT IS CERTAINLY BEGINNING TO CHANGE NOW, HERE IN HONG KONG. AT FIRST PEOPLE USED TO THINK EDUCATION WAS JUST LEARNING THINGS, JUST SOAKING UP KNOWLEDGE LIKE A SPONGE- BUT THERE IS SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE IN EXISTENCE NOW, THAT IF YOU STARTED SOAKING IT UP AND KEPT ON UNTIL YOU DIED YOU WOULD BARELY HAVE SAMPLED IT.
+OF COURSE WE DO NEED KNOWLEDGE, WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE WE SHOULD BE HELPLESS AND THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT WE SIMPLY MUST JUST LEARN.
J
/+HOWEVER