HP Prime vs TI-84 Plus CE for Jr. High and High School

[JDW]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, sasa.

Kids in K-12 honestly do NOT care much about calculators. They really don't. I certainly didn't when I was in high school. But that all changed when I started college, and that was when I purchased my first HP -- the 28S, for my EE classes. I went to high school in the 1980's, and because I was in a private school, there wasn't a push for students to buy any one calculator. In fact, as I recall, my math instructors wanted me to use my brain, not a calculator to figure out most of the math. I don't even remember what calculator I used in high school. It might not even have been a scientific calculator.

My kids are no different. They just grow worried about what their teachers expect of them. They don't really care about the calculator, except perhaps my daughter who said to me, "So long as I can get it in pink or mint..." But as a father who is well versed in math and HP calculators, like many of you, I am biased and have strong opinions. It would be easy for me to plunk down the ¥15500 Amazon Japan asks for the ridiculously overpriced and ancient TI-83 Plus that my children's school "STRONGLY recommends" but something inside me says, "Wow, this is nuts. That much for 20 year old calculator tech that's vastly inferior to my preferred HP brand?" And on the other hand, I have my daughter distraught over what her teacher might do in class if she brought in a non-recommended calculator (especially one NOT in pink), only to find the teacher throw up her hands in class saying, "Sorry, I don't know that calculator so figure it out yourself and do it fast because I am assigning a lot of homework tonight that requires a calculator." For younger kids, (yes, compared to us, even high-schoolers are "younger kids") that sort of thing can be very intimidating. Consider how much "mind control" is taking place while reading what this teacher from Texas says about HP calculators versus TI:

https://www.quora.com/Is-the-HP-Prime-go...-and-above

So while all my dialog in this thread thus far may indicate I am leaning toward bowing my head and just doing what the math instructor wants, I have not decided yet. I sent the school an email asking for their reasoning for "STRONGLY recommending" at 20 year old calculator that still sells for an outrageous price. Most likely they will say something about it being in the text books and say something about the math instructor owning one and all that. Regardless, I will decide what to do at that point.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.