British Schools Removing Analog Clocks From Exam Halls Because Kids Can’t Read Them

By Paul Bois   @paulbois39

The clocks aren’t broken, the kids just can’t read them, and that’s just not right, not even twice a day.

Apparently, younger generations in Britain have been spending so much time on their digital devices that they can no longer tell time on analog clocks, reports Inspire To Change. So, rather than educate kids to properly read an analog clock, schools have elected to remove the clocks entirely from exam halls.

“In the UK, many educators are phasing out analog clocks in favor of digital ones,” reports the outlet. “Students taking the GCSE and A-level exams were complaining that they couldn’t read the time. In order to make everything ‘as easy and straightforward as possible,’ they are making the switch to digital time reading.”

Not only that, the clock removals are happening in northwest London at schools like Ruislip High School, a city known for its gargantuan clock. Stephanie Keenan, Head of English at the high school, said teachers are “removing analog clocks from examination halls because teenagers are unable to tell the time.”

Since students are under strict time limits during aptitude examinations, analog clocks will be swapped in favor of digital ones. Often the students will interrupt the test to ask the proctor how much time is left. The digital clocks will not only allow the students to keep track, they will lead to less interruptions.

Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders, simply said that the new generation cannot read a traditional clock due to the presence of digital technology. “The current generation isn’t as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” he told The Telegraph in 2018. “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.”