Since the ban on phones took effect this school year, teachers in Manhattan and Brooklyn have encountered amusing yet frustrating situations. Instead of checking their phones for the time, students now frequently ask teachers, "What time is it?".

Madi Morningweg, a middle school teacher in Manhattan, expressed her frustration: "I get annoyed because every student clamors to know how many minutes are left." She often points to the wall clock and asks students to identify the positions of the minute and hour hands.

This phenomenon is common, as traditional classrooms typically feature only analog clocks. Cheyenne Francis, a 14-year-old student at Midwood Middle School in Brooklyn, acknowledged, "Many classmates have forgotten how to tell time because they always have a phone."

Tiana Millen, Assistant Principal of Cardozo Middle School, stated, "It is a crucial skill, yet students are entirely unfamiliar with it. They simply do not know how to tell time."

Students surrender smartphones upon arriving at school. Photo: New York Post

The New York Department of Education confirms that elementary school students are taught concepts such as "o'clock", "half-past", and "quarter-to".

Isla Gething, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, stated, "We recognize the importance of students being able to tell time on both analog and digital clocks. As they mature in an increasingly digitized world, no traditional time-telling skills should be left behind."

This concern is not new. A 2017 study in Oklahoma revealed that only 20% of children aged 6 to 12 could read an analog clock. In the UK, since 2018, numerous schools have even replaced analog clocks with digital ones to alleviate student stress during exams.

However, educators also offer a broader perspective. While traditional time-telling skills appear to be declining, students exhibit superior abilities in subjects like programming and robotics.

By Doan Hung (Source: New York Post, Gothamist)