Sunday, May 25, 2014

Telling Time Without a Clock

This year, teaching my kids how to tell time has been quite a challenge.  Teaching this group of kids anything this year has been challenging, but telling time is usually a skill that is picked up rather quickly.  That has not yet been the case.  The "Time" unit is usually a couple of weeks in length.  The kids come into 2nd grade with a basic understanding of the hands on the clock and telling time to the hour.  With that background, delving into telling time to five minutes is a natural progression.  This year's group (the entire grade level in fact) didn't come in quite as proficient in the prerequisite skills. We could see that the skills had been taught last year because a handful had it and another handful had it with some holes.  After the two weeks were up, we gave an assessment and the results were less than stellar.  A round of reteach (grouping by instructional needs) was decided upon, and we spent another two weeks on that skill.  Again we assessed, and while we had more kids score proficient that time around, we still had many who weren't - far more than the norm.

In the midst of the "Time" unit, Parent/Teacher conferences were scheduled, and based on the results of the assessments, we mentioned the struggle with telling time as necessary and recommended some practice at home as well.  During one such meeting, a set of parents mentioned their lack of a traditional clock in the family home.  They had cell phones, and digital clocks on the oven, microwave, TV, DVD player, etc. but not one analog clock in the house...not even a watch.

When the power went out and then came back on last weekend, I ran around the house resetting clocks (the ones that weren't automatically set by satellite), and you know what?  I don't have an analog clock anywhere in my house either.  I do wear a watch with hands, but other than that not a one.  It got me thinking about this group of kids and why telling time has been so difficult for them.  It's very likely these kids are growing up in a house that doesn't have an analog clock, and since most clocks we see out-and-about are digital, school may be the ONLY place they see one.

Telling time to 5 minutes on an analog clock is a Common Core standard in 2nd grade (and used to be  with the CA State Standards as well before the shift), and I've always taught it with gusto...it's a life skill so very important.  But now I'm wondering if it is in fact a life skill anymore when school is the only place they will have to use it.  Telling time on an analog clock is barely relevant to them anymore.

I'm having a hard time rationalizing why we would need to teach it anymore, but also having a hard time rationalizing not teaching because for all the previous generations of kids it was necessary.  Is it a hindrance to not know how when they rarely, if ever, see an analog clock?  It reminds me some about learning to drive.  When I was learning to drive, every adult told me how important it was to know how to drive a stick/manual shift car - a life skill of sorts.  But I didn't know anyone who had one, so I never learned.  Since getting my license a hundred years ago I have been faced with needing to know how to drive a stick maybe a total of 2 times - once in a designated driver situation and once when needing to borrow a car.  Both a bit inconvenient, but not life altering.

On the other hand, I still wish I had learned.  So maybe it is important they learn to tell time, even if it's only at school...just in case.

10 comments:

  1. Mmm, I see your dilemma. It's more a question of priorities. If you had the time you'd do lots of things.
    But isn't the question here if they understand the adding of two higher concepts than the straightforward timetelling. Yes, they can probably read off the digital display but do they understand what it means. Can they look at a phone and tell you it's two hours to going-home time/how long since the class started, and understand. If they can, then it's the buggy whip and Bvlgari for the clock display. Where it becomes a reserve for .001% who can afford high-end shopping.

    You do know way back when people, when asked if they had Roman, numerical or graphic strokes display without looking at it couldn't answer with any degree of certainty. And those that answered quickly were more likely to be wrong. It was discovered the picture we have and use for processing is the first time piece we learnt. With me it's a Roman 25 inch Victorian wall clock made in America about 1880.

    And I've ever driven an automatic a few times. Horses for courses, eh. But should you live in Ireland or the UK for any length of time you'd have serious problems finding an 'A' to drive on an ongoing basis. They are about 1:20,000.

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    1. Yes! I agree with both of you! The concept of time is still important, in addition time relationships, elapsed time, am/pm, etc. It's much easier to teach those concepts using the analog clock that the digital...it's the whole picture (well half of the picture at least) where the digital clock is just that moment. There's no relationship. I think that's why it was so tough this year (one of a few reasons anyways). Their lack of exposure to a "real" clock left them lacking that prerequisite knowledge needed to trudge forward. This will mean a different approach is needed as the analog clock is irrelevant, at least to them.
      My first memories of a clock is an old nautical thing that we had up in the house. I think it had numbers. My watch has no numbers.
      Yah, I know when traveling and renting a car over there it cost us more for an automatic. When I was growing up a lot of people had stick, but I think the 80s was when the automatic kind of boomed here. And with it bettering its previous performance those who sat in the kind of traffic (stop/go/stop/go) we do here and at traffic lights on every block opted for the upgrade. Manual was rare when I learned to drive and just about obsolete nowadays. I'd love to learn, as I said just as a skill, but it's been years since I've even seen one let alone been in one. Both my previous experiences written above took place in New Hampshire, where they were more common (in college at least).

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  2. Roaring is correct...one would need to know concepts about time that the digital might not cover for kids. I am trying to remember if DD1 has an analog clock in her house. I know I have several. Santa Barbara has sure been in the news this weekend. Isla Vista use to be her stomping grounds. Drunk kids falling off cliffs and stair wells were about the biggest news, when she was in school,

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    1. Another awful tragedy and on the other hand, they are so common place now. Nothing seems to change on the gun issues or the mental health issues. This kid was sick (and told everyone on YouTube that he was going to do it), and all the guns were registered to HIM. Guns don't kill people, people who shouldn't have guns but somehow do, do. There will be a day or two of outrage and then back to the status quo. It's disgusting.

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  3. Not only time but money! When I last taught money in 2nd grade every child knew what a penny was...kids don't use money and either do their parents..they just slide plastic across the machine and sign or put in a code.

    This is the generation of kids who don't get their driver's licenses either...they were the first kids to have to ride in the backseat because of airbags that started coming out in 1991 or so...so these kids didn't watch their parents drive - mainly because of my biggest pet peeve, DVD players in the car that get used on short trips...kids don't know their own neighborhood.

    I could go on and on...phones occupying moments when kids are "bored," like in a grocery store, waiting in line, etc, where conversation used to take place...or reading a book!

    And one last comment- my daughter bought a car with a stick shift in 2009 and quickly learned to use it. Then when she was looking for work in New Zealand, that is the skill that got her a job...she was hired to drive a sick shift van to pick up students from school and drive them to the day care where she worked....she just had to learn to shift with her left hand :)
    Happy 3 Day Weekend!!

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    1. Oh yes, I was just having this conversation tonight. That issue has never been more prevalent to me than this school year. This class does not know how to just "be". They expect to be entertained, by someone or something, at all times. I too attribute it to parents not letting them ever just be - phone, tablets, TV, video games, movies in the car just to go to the grocery store. While it's by far easier to "raise" kids when they're constantly occupied, I don't think parents understand what a disservice that is to their kids. But maybe as a society we are moving in that directions I suppose it's us who will have to adjust to this shift and try to reach them in other ways. I would imagine every decade or two the teachers say the same thing. :)

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  4. Yes, yes, yes, I say it is still something that should be taught. YES!

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  5. Oh, did you know the Kardashian-West's are honeymooning here in Ireland.

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    1. Oh, I'm sorry they're bringing their crazy to you. I hope you're not having to hear about it 24-7 like we do here. Although how nice for them. :)

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