One day in study hall I was working with a group of boys and one decided he was going to buy a can of pop. Two more asked him to get them one. He was trying to figure out how much money he would need. He said they were 60 cents each. "You need $1.80," I told him. One kid paused in midair as he was pulling his calculator out of his bag. The entire table looked at me like I was Criss Angel and had just walked on water.
"How do you know that?" they asked, completely astonished.
"Uhhh...six times three is eighteen, so..."
"Nice to be able to think like that," one guy said.
Now, I know that the kids I work with have learning disabilities, but this still bothered me some. I mean, seriously? Without a calculator they were completely in the dark. I think that somewhere back in elementary or middle school, somebody really failed them. There are waaaaaaaaay too many kids (and not all of them special ed.) that are unable to even do basic adding and subtracting without a damn calculator. This is what the education system is coming to. At least, that is what I think on my more cynical days. I hope I am wrong.
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