<p>Timely thread. Just this week I was in a meeting where the spreadsheet that needed to be discussed had numbers that didnt make sense in many fields. The person who produced it couldnt tell - a risk of just plugging numbers in. It was a waste of valuable time. While calculators are great tools, the reason to understand the why of mathematical operations is that it really makes us smarter it helps the brain learn to see patterns and relationships. I think such learning generalizes to other areas. I also think that spending time playing with numbers (even drill) helps kids see the patterns. Ill second the power of Montessori methods. I just dont understand why Montessori manipulatives are not used more extensively in math education.</p>