Schools Are Removing Analogue Clocks Because Students Don’t Know How to Read Them

One of the first things I remember from my childhood was my mother teaching me how to read an analogue clock.

I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy and it took days.

But in the UK, schools are now removing analogue clocks from their classrooms and replacing them with digital ones because apparently, kids just can’t read them anymore, according to Distractify.

They first discovered this when their students were stressed out during their exams because they didn’t know how much time they had left!

Source: lessonslearnedinlife

“The current generation aren’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” said Malcolm Trobe, the deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), and there’s only one thing to blame.

Technology.

“They are used to seeing a digital representation of time on their phone, on their computer. Nearly everything they’ve got is digital, so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere,” he added.

Source: stocksy

Being a former principal, he said that teachers want to ease the burden of students and make them feel as relaxed as possible, especially during exams. Hence, replacing analogue clocks with digital ones would make it easier for students who are working against time.

Apparently, reading clock faces are taught at schools in the UK, but students can’t seem to fully comprehend them by the time they reach secondary school.

“It may be a little sad if youngsters coming through aren’t able to tell the time on clock faces. One hopes that we will be teaching youngsters to read clocks, however, we can see the benefit of digital clocks in exam rooms,” he continued.

In 2018, the head paediatric occupational therapist at the Heart of England foundation NHS Trust, Sally Payne, had warned that children are finding it harder and harder to hold and use pencils and pens as a result of reliance towards technology.

Source: stuff

“It’s easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes. Because of this, they’re not developing the underlying foundation skills they need to grip and hold a pencil,” she said.

“To be able to grip a pencil and move it, you need strong control of the fine muscles in your fingers. Children need lots of opportunity to develop those skills.”

Is our reliance on technology completely killing our future generation’s basic survival skills?

Should we try harder to educate them or do we have to evolve along with technology and lose our basic life abilities?

Let us know in the comments section below.

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