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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 10 months ago by to c/news@lemmy.world
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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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[–] 4 points 10 months ago (10 children)

Ok by why does this matter. Most people can't read a sundial either?

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    There's concern that young people have very poorly developed analog knowledge. Humans usually learn better by combining sensory inputs, such as learning better by writing things down or tying things to memories. Smells famously tie into memories very well. By only typing, and having very little connections to the real world in the context of learning, there is the fear that they will learn less and also not be able to learn, since they are lacking those sensory connections. They also have horrible handwriting, probably spelling as well due to autocorrect. This is practically not a problem, but if the next generations grow up not knowing "how to language", that is probably not ideal.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (8 children)

    We don't really use sundials still. We still use analog clocks though because they're efficient and if it ain't broke, why fix it?

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  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Not only that but Technology Connections got me thinking about analog clocks in a whole new way.

    If it's 1:40 and you know you gotta leave in half an hour, you don't need to know that you need to leave at 2:10...just 'when the big hand does half a lap from now'.

    It's better for visualizing time, if that makes sense?

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Most likely more digital then analog clocks these days. I can read analog but I cant remember the last time I needed. Besides the both do the same job but one is quicker and more accessible.

    People are really scared of change but just because something is new doesn't mean it's bad.

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    That depends. People have different brains. If you've got dyscalculia, analog is probably easier.

    It's a lot more effort to take down working analog clocks and replace them with digital ones; the analog clocks we've got on towers and all aren't going anywhere.

    I don't think it's always a fear of change. Sometimes it's just comfort in the familiar.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    No need to take them down, eventually they will need to be replaced and most people have a phone or a digital watch anyway. It's just not super priority. I think reading comprehension should be a higher concern

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    Agreed, it's a gradual process. I would be inclined to agree, but there still is a sizable watch heads population, even among younger folks, so who knows.

    Definitely, literacy is key. What decades of defunding the humanities and liberal arts does...

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