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.
I remember a time when I couldn’t tell time with an analogue clock.
I walked to school by myself from age 7. When my parents left for work they said I should get going when the big hand is pointing straight down.
I still have to take a second to actually process the analog time (at least for minutes)
I think we’ve had 50/50% analogue and digital clocks at home. Analogue on walls and wrists, digital on microwaves and VCRs. I’m sure that helped make the connection.
I can understand that kids are not motivated to practice telling time from an oldskool watchface when they always have a digital clock in their pocket.
We recently switched cars. The previous one had a big digital display for the speed. My wife is completely unable to tell the speed from a regular gauge now.
Same here, it takes a fair bit of thinking, but can be done. Some people think it’s funny/sad that it needs processing time, but I never practice the skill, because I really never need to, so who cares? It’s never been something that has made intuitive sense to me, and has always been a struggle, but there have been digital alternatives nearly my entire life which are now far more common, so why bother getting better?