One of the most hotly contested issues in mathematics education today is the use of calculators in elementary schools. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has gone on record recommending the use of calculators in the earliest grades. NCTM's recommendation that calculators be introduced under the guidance of skilled teachers is good as far as it goes, but the shortage of skilled math teachers at even the primary level renders the recommendation worthless. NCTM rightly advises that estimation skills and the ability to evaluate the reasonableness of an answer are crucial to using calculators effectively. However, many of the teachers who are supposed to provide this instruction apparently do not possess adequate skills for determining the reasonableness of an answer. In this article, the author suggests that the first prerequisite for improving math instruction is to upgrade the quality of the teachers. Until this requirement is met, initiatives aimed at reforming math education are largely irrelevant to achievement, reasoning skills, or problem-solving skills.