New York teachers stunned to learn some students can’t read time on old clocks after phone ban comes into play
Classroom phone ban exposes ‘major’ issue inside schools
- New York City teachers say they’ve discovered many students struggle to tell time on analogue clocks after a cell phone ban was implemented in schools last September.
- “That's a major skill that they're not used to at all,” Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens, told Gothamist.
- Another teacher told the publication, “The constant refrain is ‘Miss, what time is it?’ It’s a source of frustration because everyone wants to know how many minutes are left in class. … It finally got to the point where we I started saying ‘Where’s the big hand and where’s the little hand?’”
- The ban has reportedly led to a significant shift in school culture, fostering increased in-person social interaction, including sports, board games, and more lively lunchroom conversations.
- New York City joins at least 31 other US states and the District of Columbia with school phone restrictions, with California also set to introduce a similar policy by July 2026.