With phones banned, some students realise they don’t remember how to read analog clocks in school

• NYC school phone ban reveals students struggle to read analog clocks
• Students now ask teachers for the time, unsure how to read wall clocks
• Experts say digital skills are strong, but analog clock reading needs practice

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Some students in New York City are having a slightly embarrassing moment after schools banned phones. According to a report by Gothamist, the smartphone ban revealed something no one predicted. Many students are now struggling to read analog clocks. The clocks didn’t change. The students did.

The story first came to light at Cardozo High School in Queens, where assistant principal Tiana Millen noticed a pattern. The phone ban has helped students focus better, talk more during lunch, and walk faster in hallways without bumping into pillars or humans. Attendance has improved, and more students are reaching class on time. But here’s the funny part. Many of them have no idea they’re actually on time. The reason is simple. They don’t know how to read the clocks mounted right in front of them. They ask teachers for the time now like it’s a secret code only adults are allowed to know.

English teacher Madi Mornhinweg from Manhattan said the most common question in her class recently has been, “Miss, what time is it?” She finally began pointing at the clock and asking them to identify the big hand and the small hand. The moment was less about learning and more about detective work.

The education department says clock reading is taught as early as Grade 1 and 2. Students are introduced to basic terms like “o’clock,” “half-past,” and “quarter-to.” But between learning it in childhood and actually using it as teenagers, the skill seems to have taken a long vacation. Not a dramatic one. Just the kind where you forget to tell anyone you’re leaving.