Schools throughout the United Kingdom have made the controversial decision to remove analogue clocks from exam rooms as students struggle to read the time.
According to The Telegraph the consistent move towards all things digital has had serious side effects on today’s younger generations who are unable to read the time on the traditional clocks.
The situation has become that detrimental to a student’s education that schools have bid farewell to analogue clocks for good to create an easy and stress-free environment.
Speaking to The Telegraph about the decision, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Deputy General Secretary Malcolm Trobe said teenagers nowadays are simply not as good at reading the time as the older generations.
“They are used to seeing a digital representation of time on their phone, on their computer,” he explained. “Nearly everything is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere.”
Trobe went on to explain how they didn’t want to increase stress among students during the busy exam period. He explained that an alternative digital clock would also minimise confusion and ensure the teenagers understand how much time they have left to complete their tests.
“Schools will inevitably be doing their best to make young children feel as relaxed as they can be,” Trobe said. “There is actually a big advantage in using digital clocks in exam rooms because it is much less easy to mistake a time on a digital clock when you are working against time.”
The decision has sparked attention online with many people across the world taking to social media to express their thoughts on the use of digital clocks over analogue.
The majority were left dumbfounded after learning many teenagers can’t read the time, questioning what they are teaching children at school nowadays.
“We are continuing to regress as a species,” one person exclaimed on Twitter.
“I’m confused. Before we teach digital clock reading we need to teach analogue clock reading. That’s basic education,” another wrote.
While a third said: “I tutor a few kids and there was this kid who had trouble with analogue clocks so we drew them over and over again, until he could tell me what time it was. It’s not that the kids can’t be arsed, it’s the teachers too. Education system keeps getting worse.”