With the New York State cellphone ban in effect, a handful of students are facing an unanticipated challenge, telling time.
Telling time is a skill taught in elementary school as reading an analog clock is different from reading a digital clock. For years, students relied on the digital clock displayed on their phones to quickly check the time.
“When I had my phone out, I could constantly check the time but now I can’t,” said freshman Sophia K.
Without their phones, students have been finding alternatives to telling time. They have been using other school-approved technology or asking teachers what the time is.
“I’d rather use a digital watch, because it’s easier,” said Sophia.
Teachers have observed the shift of some students having a difficult time comprehending the analog clocks in classrooms.
“I saw that shift a little bit with the phone ban when students were no longer able to check their phone for the time. They were struggling with checking the clock because it took them an extra few seconds to actually understand the time. That’s something I saw at the beginning of the year the most. It’s faded out more now,” said social studies teacher Crystal Curcio.
Despite learning how to tell time in second grade, some students still need a refresher.
“Students always ask what time it is when they’re looking directly at the clock on the wall,” said art teacher Robert Raeihle.
Managing time is an essential part of daily life. The ability to tell time is a skill, and it may impact students’ schoolwork.
“With photography specifically, when we’re taking the photos, the amount of time between […] the shutter speed, helps with how well or how bad the photo might turn out. […] And when we are developing our photos and taking the negatives and putting them with the fixer, each chemical goes in or makes contact with the negatives for a certain amount of time. […] In the darkroom, we can’t use analog clocks or any kind of clock because of light, but we would use our phones with a very dark setting, which was allowed, and that was how we would keep the time because it might be something such as 60 seconds, which isn’t the easiest to read off of an analog clock. But now I’ve had to buy a stopwatch,” said senior Ashlynn C.
Time management is a critical skill that students develop through knowing how to tell and manage time. Whether it’s executing tasks in class, or being punctual, time management is necessary in the school setting.
“I think that [the ability to read an analog clock] affects their ability to work efficiently. Being able to complete a task in the allotted time is a skill that we work on throughout the year. Whether it’s a writing assignment or it’s something that they’re working on in class or a long-term project that they’re working on at home, having a measurement of time to get it done allows them to plan and get ahead of things. So this way, they’re not procrastinating work and they’re able to get everything done in an efficient way,” said Curcio.
Sometimes it’s not just cellphones that are disruptive, as there can also be other factors.
“There is a lot of time in the day. The time can be wasted on distractions. I think that now the phones outside the classroom, we do have a lot less distractions, but there are other distractions in the classroom, too. Like, social distractions. There are distractions that are internalized. There are things that might take your mind away from your work,” said Raeihle.
While cellphones have their negative effects on students, sometimes being away from the phones can help them improve other skills.
“It made me happy to learn how to use an analog clock because I’m used to just glancing at my phones and I immediately know the time,” said senior Mollie Y. ◼️
