Not The Onion

19210 readers

680 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

Links to news stories from...
...credible sources, with...
...their original headlines, that...
...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Please also avoid duplicates.

Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

kescusay@lemmy.world

195

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 1 week ago by resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

95 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

the only clocks I have on display in my house are analog

That's a choice. You don't have to have any analog clocks. I don't currently have any. I dislike decorational clocks and strictly have digital clocks as informational devices where I want the time at a glance. Not to mention, I have 4 appliances in the kitchen with digital clocks (oven, microwave, drip coffee, keurig). Meanwhile, I absolutely hate audible ticking, so the only analogs I've bought are watches.

Also, as a former child, I can tell you children do not know what time it is. I also had digital clocks available the whole time, ranging from my dad's "James Bond" Casio, to the VCR flashing 12:00 all the time. Mostly, the pale teal VFD type.

It doesn't make sense to think of reading an analog clock as a necessary skill. It's like driving a manual car. Can you? I do it daily. I can count on one hand the number of times being able to drive stick saved me in an emergency situation by being the only transmission available (it's a closed fist). All the same, I have never been in an emergency situation that was dependent on my ability to read an analog clock

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Tick Tock. Tick Tock.

That shit gets it's battery removed or taken off the wall and shoved in the bathroom whenever I end up at a hotel/motel with one.

Drives me insane.

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't mind ticking (up to a certain point), but my Dad used to have in his garage an analog clock that not only ticked but also had extremely audible whirring sounds. They were associated (I assume) with the gearing. Again, it never really bothered me - I didn't spend much time in the garage and I'm pretty sure that clock had been around longer than I had (which is probably why it was so noisy). I was accustomed to it.

However, I remember the day my dad got hearing aids. One of the first things he observed was how noisy the clock was, asking if it had always been that way.

My dad spent a lot of time in his garage. Pretty sure that clock didn't last out the week.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Hearing aids are such a QoL improvement once people admit they need them. There's so much noise in the world that gets lost with age/damage. My dad got less irritable because he could actually understand normal talking levels. He definitely noticed some "new" noises in his house like yours did.

But now I have a new issue. I can hear him breathing and chewing through his own hearing aids since they're cranked to 11. Whatever, I'll take it.

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

My dad also got less irritable after. Before he got them, he got in a few (fairly slight) arguments with my mom due to him perceiving her as saying nonsense things - because he couldn't hear the context. Unfortunately, my mom died before he got the hearing aids, but he definitely always loved her and the arguments stayed minor and surrounded by good connections. He fairly doted on her most of the time.

He lived for a long time after getting them and it was good to see, as you said, his QoL improvements.

I never had the issue you're describing, but I think that's in part because he could largely function with his limited hearing and mostly kept the aids off or on low settings. I'm glad you're able to deal with the inconvenience!

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's a choice to be stupid. When I was a child I was frustrated as hell I couldn't read the signs Bugs Bunny held up, so I was chomping at the bit to learn. And these kids see "circle clocks" and just figure, "Meh. Guess it will always be a mystery."

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

.-..

-.-

Youre choosing to be esoteric.