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As great as it is to be alive in 2018 there are some tremendous down-sides to the “digital age.”
People are attempting absurd experiments with robots. Jesus has internet antennas. And it appears that some high school students no longer appear to be able to read a traditional analog clock.
According to The Telegraph, teachers in the UK are making an effort to replace analog clocks with digital clocks because students have been consistently complaining about struggling to read the correct time on the analog model while taking important exams.
Yes. This is real.
“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.”
That’s a quote from the area’s deputy general secretary of schools
He also noted that “teachers want their students to feel as relaxed as possible during exams. Having a traditional clock in the room could be a cause of unnecessary stress.”
From the looks of it, clock-gate is an on-going issue that teachers have been dealing with for quite some time.
We discovered this a few years ago when some couldn’t read the exam room clock
— Cheryl Quine (@MissSequin) March 14, 2018
The theory is that younger millennials have grown up around so many digital devices, which tell only digital time, that no one has made a straight-forward effort to teach them how to read a traditional clock. It also sounds like some can read the clock, it just takes more effort, which could add unnecessary stress during test-taking.
But don’t worry. I have a plan.
Teachers, teach your students how to read a clock.
I know. It’s a crazy concept. But trust me, it will work. And it won’t take any money out of the budget.
Also add the following:
How to open a checking account.
Change the oil/tires on an automobile.
How to put together a cover letter and resume.
Interviewing skills.
How to manage finances.
And unfortunately, how to grip and use a pencil.
Josh Helmuth is a sports reporter in St. Louis who contributes to Mandatory. He will teach his kids how to read a clock.
