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New York teachers stunned to learn some students can’t read time on old clocks after phone ban comes into play (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 2 months ago by resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/41056130

At least 31 states and the District of Columbia restrict cell phones in schools

New York City teachers say the state’s recently implemented cell phone ban in schools has showed that numerous students no longer know how to tell time on an old-fashioned clock.

“That's a major skill that they're not used to at all,” Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens, told Gothamist of what she’s noticed after the ban, which went into effect in September.

Students in the city’s school system are meant to learn basic time-telling skills in the first and second grade, according to officials, though it appears children have fallen out of practice doing so in an increasingly digital world.

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[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 18 points 2 months ago

This is incorrect. I'm a teacher and CONSTANTLY use the analog clock for multiple reasons.

It's the clock of record. Doesn't matter what YOUR particular clock says, the clock on the WALL is the time we all go on.
Reaching into your pocket to pull out a phone and look, no matter how much you want to pretend it's trivial, still takes SIGNIFICANTLY more effort and time than glancing at the wall. Those seconds add up.
Momentum. Are you PERSONALLY going to provide the billions of dollars in funding to replace every analog clock in a public space with digital ones?

This is not like learning to write cursive - reading an analog clock is a trivial skill that should not take longer than a day for anyone to master.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 2 points 2 months ago

My eyes are on my phone constantly, so no time is lost.

[+] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world -14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

This is incorrect. I’m a teacher and CONSTANTLY use the analog clock for multiple reasons.
It’s the clock of record. Doesn’t matter what YOUR particular clock says, the clock on the WALL is the time we all go on.

Irrelevant. This function would be served regardless of what type of clock is on the wall. A digital wall clock would serve just as well, and likely be less expensive to maintain than the electromechanical clocks you presumably use. (something about obsolete technologies becoming increasingly more expensive to maintain.)

Reaching into your pocket to pull out a phone and look, no matter how much you want to pretend it’s trivial, still takes SIGNIFICANTLY more effort and time than glancing at the wall. Those seconds add up.

See the above reply.

Momentum. Are you PERSONALLY going to provide the billions of dollars in funding to replace every analog clock in a public space with digital ones?

an irrelevant red herring with a false dichotomy. Clocks in public places are mostly installed by the people who maintain those public places. We all pay taxes to keep those places up. I don't need to personally fund such a project and you know it.

This is not like learning to write cursive - reading an analog clock is a trivial skill that should not take longer than a day for anyone to master.

It may be trivial, and there may be some benefit besides learning to read said clock. But like cursive, it's an irrelevant skill that generally won't be used outside of class. That's how it's like cursive. Or, if you prefer, using a slide rule. as a teacher, I am, however, sure you understand that you only have so many hours of instruction available. A day spent on this, is a day not spent on something else. You might have arguments for why this is more important than that something else, but its still an obsolete technology that, like the slide rule and fountain pens, is going away. Nostalgia is not a good enough reason to keep it around.

btw, my middle school had all digital wall clocks back in the mid 90's, and probably had them for quite some time before i was there.

this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2026

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