it doesn't have to be either/or. one of those will take far less time to teach than the other.
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Schools are removing analogue clocks from exam halls as teenagers 'cannot tell the time'
- Thread starter Deleted member 15428
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it doesn't have to be either/or. one of those will take far less time to teach than the other.
This is a rather large thread, but I am sure it has already been mentioned that learning to tell time on analogue clocks also helps with the development of math skills. I wouldn't be surprised if the skill also establishes certain time management cognition since it offers a visual reference to how much time is remaining in a task (something that digital clocks to do not do). So, learning to tell time on an analogue clock is arguable not simply a situational skill.
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Edit:
There are these concepts known as foundation skills. A person has to learn a primary set of skills before moving on to higher level skills.
This is what happens when education is built with the end goal of test results as the prime function rather than improving the functions of thinking.
This is not me trying to imply young people aren't smart, they clearly are.
That said, we've still yet to feel the full implications of the last 20-30 years of education. Hopefully it won't be costly
Hahaha, no.
I work with teens and their computer skills are generally awful. They've never learned to touch type because everything they do is on touchscreens. They have no idea about file systems or file formats because that's all abstracted for them. And using Instagram does not mean they know how to edit an image. I can sit them in front of Photoshop and see how long it takes them to work out how to crop. God forbid I ask them to rotate an image clockwise.
Most of the older people here have been using the same platforms that these kids have for just as long, if not longer, and have backed it up with the skills from decades of using everything from DOS to Windows 10.
And I know how to read a clock. All skills are good, even if some are more immediately useful than others.
It is so easy, and in fact faster and more natural for human mind to process how much time is left until a certain time is reached, when looking at the analogue clock. You have to actively subtract numbers in your head when looking at digital, because you don't have a visual piechart-like overview, that analogue clock offers. It's not just some arcane curiosity, it's a more organic representation of the flow of time.
Seriously? Where do you live?
Around here, more or less every clock outside of computers/smartphones is analogue. But I live in Switzerland and we have a rich tradition of building watches. Rolex, Tag Heuer, Swatch etc. are all Swiss companies. So yeah, it's pretty much a part of our culture.
Learning how to read an analogue clock was the only way I could stare at the clock and get excited for class to end. Just wouldn't be the same with digital.
I'm fine with this. Let it slide and use the time to teach the next generation the metric system instead. It's long overdue.
Guess what time this is.
Almost 3:00.
Maybe a little after 2:45.
PM, obviously.
Maybe a little after 2:45.
PM, obviously.
Teens come to my work and they'll occasionally ask for the time. I'll point to the clock on the wall. They'll look confused for a bit and then I'll tell them the time. You can't say a quarter after four or anything weird like that though.
Good, no reason to even have analog clocks anymore. I understand clock/watch enthusiasts will want to keep them around and that's fine but otherwise just make everything digital and easier to read. Just an efficiency thing that's all. This story is no big deal.
I'm not saying we should be slaves to the analog, but there's nothing easier or more efficient about digital if you have an equal understand of both.
As has been pointed out, it's actually easier to conceptualise the time (in terms of how much of it remains in an hour or twelve hour period) when viewed pie chart style. Glancing at a round time clock doesn't just tell me that it's 8:45, it tells me that 75% of the hour has elapsed, and 25% remains until 9:00. Since time is relative, and our perception of time shifts as we age, this is more useful than you might think.
I can read an analog clock but the phrases "quarter of" and "quarter to" make me stop and think for a bit as to which one is which.
It is troubling how much pride some of the members take in espousing ignorance because it conforms to their sense of "modernism" encased in a bubble. It's not a difficult thing to read time by looking at an analog clock. I think it speaks ill of the education system that would forgo teaching these basic skills that are applicable worldwide. This attitude reminds me of young people who are in school or post secondary educational institute and are unable to do basic math problems (addition, subtraction, division and multiplication) without the aid of a calculator.
Pitiful.
Pitiful.
I don't particularly find this surprising or understand the outcry. Many of these students grew up on digital and will only see digital throughout their youth. Even if they do learn how to tell time, it'll be so seldom used that I can see it being easily forgotten.
It reminds me of when I took the SAT however many years ago (I'm 24) and had to write some honor statement or whatever bullshit in cursive. The only cursive letters my brain remembered, and remember to this day, are those in my name. I said fuck it halfway through and wrote the rest in print.
It reminds me of when I took the SAT however many years ago (I'm 24) and had to write some honor statement or whatever bullshit in cursive. The only cursive letters my brain remembered, and remember to this day, are those in my name. I said fuck it halfway through and wrote the rest in print.
Ordinarily, I jump at the opportunity to discard antiquated methods. But if it's true that analogue clocks are essential for brain development, and have an effect on math skills, they should still be taught.
Obviously we do want to be "reliant" on technology as it makes our lives easier, but it shouldn't come at the cost of nerfing our problem solving abilities.
Obviously we do want to be "reliant" on technology as it makes our lives easier, but it shouldn't come at the cost of nerfing our problem solving abilities.
I don't know if this is the same everywhere, but where I live most baby boomers seem to have an issue with digital clocks and the 24 hour time format.
I'd personally consider that to be a bigger character flaw.
I'd personally consider that to be a bigger character flaw.
Many of my high school students don't know how to read an analog clock, so this seems accurate to me.
If you're of average intelligence.
Times change, skills become outdated, teaching methods get outdated. Progress keeps marching on.
Analogue clocks are outdated, and the things they can teach (fractions, timekeeping, etc) can all be handled other ways in a context that actually works for them today and in the future.
Lol good thing most new cars are going with digital speedometers or we'd be fucked in the future. They should teach kids how to tell time and also use a map and not always rely on GPS systems while they're at it. I'm sure we all learned how to tell time in 1st grade.
Jesus fucking christ, there's nothing "outdated" about analog clocks. Nor is there anything "modern" about digital ones. I've been using both for 40 fucking years. They have different advantages as has already been pointed out by many people. Stop trying to turn this into yet another us-vs-them situation...we have enough of that bullshit in society now. The fact remains that learning to tell time is a grade school skill and failing to teach that is a failure of an educational system.
tell us more about the two things you've been using in tandem for 40 years and how they are the same yet importantly different.
I would say kids should be able to understand them regardless of that. Analog clock is like a visual progress bar telling you how much time is left until something is complete. It's much less abstract thing than a digital clock where you have to subtract numbers to reach the same knowledge, and doesn't require fiddling or setup like countdown timer does.
I grew up with and preferred digital watches, had some cheap Casio as a kid, but reading time from an analog clock is really simple and quick to learn. It shouldn't take more than half an hour for a 10+ year old kid to grasp it.
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Who the hell are you talking to? If you have a clear point to make, please articulate it. I'm not aware of anyone making an assinine statement of "same but different." They are different and both useful.
OP
OP
Guess what time this is.
Almost 3:00.
Maybe a little after 2:45.
PM, obviously.
I'm honestly a bit stunned at this revelation, but not entirely surprised.
But then again I've always been an advocate of teaching a "life skills" class during down times or after school to better prepare students for the world ahead of them. Sure would've helped me out as a teenager.
Seriously, we've got people in here comparing analogue clocks to abacuses and chalk slates as if they're a dusty relic of some bygone age. I'm at the point where I have to just assume it's an American thing.
Yes, let's spend the week it would take to teach, review, and assess clock reading in kindergarteners on C++ instead. That is totally good pedagogy.
Some people use AM/PM with digital clocks and not 24HR.
Now that, that is just all kinds of fucked up.
Now that, that is just all kinds of fucked up.