New York teachers stunned to learn some students can’t read time on old clocks after phone ban comes into play

New York City teachers say the state’s recently implemented cell phone ban in schools has showed that numerous students no longer know how to tell time on an old-fashioned clock.

“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 of what she’s noticed after the ban, which went into effect in September.

Students in the city’s school system are meant to learn basic time-telling skills in the first and second grade, according to officials, though it appears children have fallen out of practice doing so in an increasingly digital world.

“The constant refrain is ‘Miss, what time is it?’ Madi Mornhinweg, an English teacher in Manhattan, added in an interview with the outlet. “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?’”

Students and teachers alike say they’ve seen a drastic change in school culture since the phone ban, supported by Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York City teacher’s union, went into effect.

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Observers say they’ve seen a flourish of person-to-person interaction, ranging from sports during recess to louder lunch room conversation.

“We’ve had a lot more school spirit,” Rosalmi, a senior at New Heights Academy Charter School in Harlem, told New York Magazine, in a December story that proclaimed the ban “saved high school” in the city, which is home to the largest public school system in the country. “People are more willing to do stuff.”

“Dominoes is really a staple Dominican game,” she added. “People get passionate. You have to slam that first piece down on the table!”

Students have also taken to playing board games and cards in spare moments.

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Others have tried to evade the spirit of the ban, using other digital devices sich as older iPods, or bringing walkie-talkies to school.

“I have a love-hate relationship with it,” Raisa Ibnat, 16, a senior at Brooklyn Tech, told The New York Times of the ban. “I do like the fact that my phone is away, and I’m more focused in class.”

“I don’t like the fact that I can’t do my homework in school, and I can’t take notes,” she added. “And because I have a long commute, now I have to bring, like, five notebooks.”

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Prior to the ban, some local districts attempted phone bans, such as Schoharie, New York, which banned phones in 2022, and saw positive results and increased in-person socialization among students.

At least 31 states and the District of Columbia have some form of school phone restrictions on the books, according to Education Week.

California will soon join these states, with requirements under its recently passed Phone-Free School Act that every district develop a policy by July 2026.