A very little bit. I have many students who ask me what time it is. I point to the clock on the wall, and they tell me they don't know how to read that kind of clock.
Not only do they not know how to tell time on an analog clock, they don't understand common phrases such as "quarter after 6" - they will think you mean 6:25 ~
No idea whether schools are teaching analog clocks these days, but reading them is huge problem when it comes to standardized testing (kids can't use anything that beeps, which almost all digital watches do). I think it was Stacey Howe-Lott, whom Debbie Stier worked with, who suggested bringing an analog watch and setting it back to the hour at the start of each section. That sounds pretty simple, but most kids can't handle it. It's the equivalent of inserting an extra math problem at the start of each section.
My kids spent lots of time on analog clocks, and money too, in math class (why math class, anyway? telling time seems like more of a life skill to me).
I think that the time on analog clocks is both well and properly spent in math classes. Kids learn about portions of circles; they start learning to deal with a non base-10, i.e., a base-60, system; and they are introduced to minutes and seconds, which show up in trigonometry and then later in fields that involve very small angles such as navigation and surveying.
That would be great if they taught time as an example of a non-base-10 system, but that was never the approach taken with my kids. Mainly they are taught visual tricks in order to decipher the analog time.
My CS students tend to have a lot of trouble writing algorithms that process time, because they do not understand the idea of base-60. I have seen this problem not just at my current school, but even as far back as when I was a TA at a big engineering school. I suspect that time has generally never been taught as a non-base-10 system
a bit, yes.
ReplyDeleteA very little bit. I have many students who ask me what time it is. I point to the clock on the wall, and they tell me they don't know how to read that kind of clock.
ReplyDeleteNot only do they not know how to tell time on an analog clock, they don't understand common phrases such as "quarter after 6" - they will think you mean 6:25 ~
ReplyDeleteThat error was integral to the plot of Ramona the Pest 50 years ago. Kids didn't know how to read clocks then either.
ReplyDeleteBuy nowadays, most kids don't know what money is, so a quarter being 25 is already assuming experience they don't have.
No idea whether schools are teaching analog clocks these days, but reading them is huge problem when it comes to standardized testing (kids can't use anything that beeps, which almost all digital watches do). I think it was Stacey Howe-Lott, whom Debbie Stier worked with, who suggested bringing an analog watch and setting it back to the hour at the start of each section. That sounds pretty simple, but most kids can't handle it. It's the equivalent of inserting an extra math problem at the start of each section.
ReplyDeleteOur schools did spend a lot of time on basic analog clock and money skills ... or else they would have parents all over them.
ReplyDeleteMy kids spent lots of time on analog clocks, and money too, in math class (why math class, anyway? telling time seems like more of a life skill to me).
ReplyDeleteI think that the time on analog clocks is both well and properly spent in math classes. Kids learn about portions of circles; they start learning to deal with a non base-10, i.e., a base-60, system; and they are introduced to minutes and seconds, which show up in trigonometry and then later in fields that involve very small angles such as navigation and surveying.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great if they taught time as an example of a non-base-10 system, but that was never the approach taken with my kids. Mainly they are taught visual tricks in order to decipher the analog time.
ReplyDeleteMy CS students tend to have a lot of trouble writing algorithms that process time, because they do not understand the idea of base-60. I have seen this problem not just at my current school, but even as far back as when I was a TA at a big engineering school. I suspect that time has generally never been taught as a non-base-10 system