Don't fix the problem just change the parameters
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Its becoming a reality though. I work in a school (primary and secondary) and the exams officer is putting digital clocks only in the exam rooms for that reason.
When my friend's daughter was 9 years old and he was complaining how she didn't know how to read an analogue clock.
I mean, I wound up teaching my nephews when they were 4 ... not sure what's stopping him from doing it though.
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This was only to reduce interruptions by some students (during a specific kind of UK exams), who had trouble determining the remaining time in the heat of the exam battle
I am not being funny but if someone is unable to read the time perhaps they shouldn't be in the exam room in the first place.
It is like saying that all questions will be read out loud all the time and verbal answers recorded instead of written ones - because some students are illiterate.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Ah, okay, I can't take exams because my dyscalculia makes it difficult for me to read a clock (and it's not worth my time).

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Ah, okay, I can't take exams because my dyscalculia makes it difficult for me to read a clock (and it's not worth my time).
wrote last edited by [email protected]No, you shouldn't pass exams if you are an idiot - and if you do take them, don't expect a special treatment because of your stupidity.
And no, as I said people with diagnosed disability are a different matter.
Hopefully that clarifies it for you.
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Dated does not mean obsolete. But it's hard to deny a digital clock is superior in almost every way.
Unlike the other examples you're giving, I fail to see in what aspect an analog clock beats a digital one. Sure they have a certain charm, but functionally they're just behind their digital counterpart.
People are gonna downvote you but I definitely agree. I see why the trend is concerning but I dont think we need to keep everything around just because that's how it used to be. Some things are allowed to change. When the quartz watch was invented, mechanical watches had to find a new niche and luckily they did. Both are still valid but their roles changed and that's okay.
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Are you from the US? I'm completely amazed that there are counties we you are almost never exposed to analog clocks. I'm from Europe and analog clocks are everywhere. Every train station, public buildings, churches, clock towers, homes, wrist watches. Heck we even have tons of (but more because of esthetics instead of serious time keeping) sun dials on walls (which the analog clock and the clock wise direction is based on - for the north hemisphere).
Many appliances/devices have digital clocks but that's not because the are more modern/better but because they are way cheaper to produce and have less moving parts.Europe has a lot more cultural attachment to their buildings as they have histories that go back a lot longer.
Murica, doesn't and its part of why they have such awful car centricity.
The car lobbyists were basically allowed to design American cities.
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Maybe you can't see the gap in your education...?
I doubt they are unable to read an analog clock. Most adults are.
I am not able to read cursive though.
Like I can guess enough of it, but I just don't encounter it enough to remember it.
Like imagine if you hadn't tied a tie in 50 years. Would you still remember how?
Its not a useful skill, and anyone who wants to learn can do so in a few minutes of searching.
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I think removing everything that kids have a bit of a hard time trying to grasp just teaches kids to give up if anything isn't immediately apparent. Its not as much of a waste of time as cursive, and it's to be taught to think in another way.
I think that kids "learning how to learn" is really important, especially with how these AI models are stunting like a whole generation of people.
This is minor,
but I also think less things need electronic displays/components that are hard to recycle and increase dependency on exploiting X country for Y resource. Its also cool to just be able to build a physical mechanism which digital clocks have no real feasible option to doLearning how to write with a pen is a waste of time..?
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My daughter got analog clocks before she could read when she was about three years old. IMHO it's a teaching skill issue. Take a normal wall clock, remove all hands except the hour hand, split the day into segments (brushing teeth, lunch, Kindergarten, etc.) and draw (did that in Gimp) some nice symbols and colors. Done. Explain stuff every time she asks "when" using that wall clock. Let that sink in for a year. Now add the minute hand back in.
Analog clocks are not really "obsolete" if you ask me. Hands on a circle aren't used enough. We have "clocks" (this time inverted - the circle spins and the hand/indicator is fixed) out of cardboards for a week to learn the days of the week, including "activity" symbols for kindergarten, "weekend", "music lesson", etc. a wheel for "day of the month", and one for month of the year also showing seasons.
The total amount of time that was invested in building those was about three or four hours but the value is huge when you have something to point to when she asks anything about time no matter it's about when we go to sleep, birthdays, holidays, etc.
birthdays? so you have a clock with 365 (+¼) minutes?
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Big Ben will be digital by 2028...
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This has got to be AI written or cherry picked data. They’re pulling clocks to save a few $ if anything. Old schools used to have synchronized analog systems. I could easily see those things being removed.
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It's an easy way to introduce fractions, especially since it's common to hear/say it's a quarter passed 2, half passed 5, and a quarter to 9.
Also teaches multiples, since the numbers on the clock represent multiples of 5.
Helps with directions, clockwise is when the hands spin to the right and counter-clockwise to the left. You'd be amazed how many students can't tell their left from right.
wrote last edited by [email protected]You'd be amazed how many students can't tell their left from right.
wtf? this goes back further than analogue clocks.. we used to have a ribbon on one hand until we learned to distinguish right from left
next you're gonna tell me kids can't tie shoe laces anymore right?
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They also have a calculator any time they want, why are we requiring mental arithmetic, sweetie?
So digital clocks should be allowed in exams that allow calculators? I mean both are taught in the lower grades and if calculators are allowed in high school, so should digital clocks be, at least according to your logic
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Probably not -- time isn't that relevant before society puts you on the path towards hourly labor. I learned in elementary, but then I also grew up with digital clocks like most folks under 50.
Edit: apparently we have either a lot of on-the-clock preschoolers or folks who don't know when digital clock radios were invented. Perhaps both. If you cared about the clock time before you were 5 I feel sorry for you.
wrote last edited by [email protected]we yearned for the mines.. but we didn't need no stinking clock because it was always dark.
canary sure was useful though. -
How did the seconds end up with three digits?
micro seconds
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So digital clocks should be allowed in exams that allow calculators? I mean both are taught in the lower grades and if calculators are allowed in high school, so should digital clocks be, at least according to your logic
So digital clocks should be allowed in exams that allow calculators?
Read again. Slowly.
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Very true yes, but even considering kids that aren't as inclined to learn on their own, it can't be too difficult for an adult or even older sibling to sit down for 5 minutes or so and explain it while watching the clock with them. It could be made even easier if you put it side by side with a synchronized digital clock/watch.
wrote last edited by [email protected]yeh but that's a very slippery slope..
before long (no clue how long if you can't read an analogue clock) you'll have to teach them about 24 hrs in a day, 7 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, 12 months a year. 365.
and why we have a Gregorian calendar why it wasn't always that way.
oh yeah, and the 29th of February (leap years).ain't nobody got time for that
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I fail to see why problem an analogue clocks are a solution for.
Like cursive they are obsolete.
because a digital clock is not right twice a day
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Digital clocks are just objectively better. They are easier to read, cheaper, and more accurate. While the reason for swapping out the clocks is bad, the end result is still good.
they don't make the satisfying tik tik though
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I think removing everything that kids have a bit of a hard time trying to grasp just teaches kids to give up if anything isn't immediately apparent. Its not as much of a waste of time as cursive, and it's to be taught to think in another way.
I think that kids "learning how to learn" is really important, especially with how these AI models are stunting like a whole generation of people.
This is minor,
but I also think less things need electronic displays/components that are hard to recycle and increase dependency on exploiting X country for Y resource. Its also cool to just be able to build a physical mechanism which digital clocks have no real feasible option to doWe should make everyone mad. Don't teach them to read analog clocks. Teach them to read digital clocks and sundials.
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Analogue clocks are a great example of kids having to understand a concept and apply it. And it's simple enough that anyone can learn it.
I often see examples where children are required to memorize a set solution, instead of showing understanding and reaching the solutions themselves.
These clocks are somewhat dated, but removing them just feels like another symptom of a failing educational system.
Nah let's ditch the analog clocks and instead teach them sundials. That will really stretch their brains.