The big hand says. . .

Schools are removing clocks with hands from examination halls, because pupils of GCSE or even A-level age find it hard to tell the time on them, preferring digital clocks, teachers report. This sounds shocking, but telling the time is not simple. Even on a clock with numbers, what you see is not what you say. With the clock at 10.50, it’s 10 to 11. Clocks with hands, though, show instantly, as if on a pie chart, how much of the hour is left, or the portion of the day before noon. Educational publishers such as Oxford recommend children use analogue clocks first. For many it’s too late – from video screen to mobile, time is all digits, no hands. If every home should have a working clock with hands, it’s also part of common culture if public clocks are kept going. Telling time connects each of us with everyone else’s day as its slips by.