A recent smartphone ban in New York schools has revealed a surprising generational gap: a significant number of students are unable to read traditional analogue clocks. This unexpected consequence came to light after the state-wide policy removed the digital crutch students relied on to tell time.
The Unintended Consequence of a Digital Detox
The issue was highlighted by Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens. In a statement to Gothamist, Millen explained that the ban, while successful in improving focus and social interaction, exposed a major skill deficit. "That's a major skill that they're not used to at all," she said, referring to reading analogue clocks. She praised the ban for helping students pay attention in class, converse more during lunch, and even walk faster through hallways. Ironically, while more students now arrive to class on time, many do not realise they are punctual because they cannot decipher the wall clocks.
Teachers and Students Weigh In on the Time-Telling Trouble
This discovery adds to a long-standing concern among educators and parents about technology eroding fundamental skills, from handwriting to reading full books. Madi Mornhinweg, a high school English teacher in Manhattan, shared her classroom experience, stating students constantly ask for the time. "It finally got to the point where we started saying 'Where's the big hand and where's the little hand?'" she noted.
Despite clock-reading being part of the curriculum in first and second grade, the skill has atrophied from disuse. Students at Midwood High School in Brooklyn confirmed the struggle. Fourteen-year-old Cheyenne Francis pointed out, "They just forgot that skill because they never used it, because they always pulled out their phone." Her peer, 15-year-old Farzona Yakuba, added that while she can read clocks, many students simply get lazy and ask others.
A Wider Trend and the Cognitive Shift Debate
This phenomenon is not entirely new or isolated to New York. A 2017 study from Oklahoma found that only one in five children aged 6 to 12 could read an analogue clock. The recent phone ban has simply brought the issue into sharper focus.
The situation raises questions about evolving competencies. Kris Perry from the Children and Screens Institute questioned whether this represents "a cognitive downgrade or just a replacement." Teachers observe that while traditional skills like clock-reading have weakened, students exhibit strong digital proficiencies, often assisting teachers with technical problems. This has led some educators, as noted by Millen, to believe it may be time to reintroduce lessons on how to read old-style clocks, ensuring students are fluent in both analogue and digital worlds.
