> we could never rely on having a calculator when we need it most—obviously there's irony associated with having 'calculators' in our pockets 24/7 now
That was just a simple quip to shut down student bellyaching. Even before we had pocket calculators, it was never a strong answer. It just had to hold over long enough so when you realized it was bad answer you weren't that teacher's problem anymore.
The actual answer was that they're complaining about a minor inconvenience designed for reinforcement, and if they really did need a calculator for the arithmetic on a test designed deliberately designed to be taken without a calculator, then they don't belong in that class.
That was just a simple quip to shut down student bellyaching. Even before we had pocket calculators, it was never a strong answer. It just had to hold over long enough so when you realized it was bad answer you weren't that teacher's problem anymore.
The actual answer was that they're complaining about a minor inconvenience designed for reinforcement, and if they really did need a calculator for the arithmetic on a test designed deliberately designed to be taken without a calculator, then they don't belong in that class.