A timely lesson at KHCC

Fourth-grade student Anjelys was having a difficult time. She was not quite sure how to turn the paper clock she had made to 10:30.

“I know how to tell time on a digital watch,” she said at the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) on Oct. 22.

The young boy sitting next to her at the table agreed. “I have a digital watch,” he said. “It’s waterproof.”

These two youngsters were not alone. With help from KHCC, an online watch retailer called DiscountWatchStore.com conducted a quick study and found that 70 percent of the children at KHCC between ages seven to 10 could not read an analog clock.

“Going to places like Grand Central Station, Times Square, Madison Square Gardens, all those places have analog clocks,” said KHCC after-school program director Lamont Jackson, adding that on a recent trip to the Staten Island Ferry, few children could tell the time on the big clock.

But on Oct. 22, Mr. Jackson was hoping to change that with a workshop on how to tell time. Dozens of children gathered around four tables with different activities designed to get them familiar with clocks. At one station, Anjelys and her friends made their own clocks with paper plates, number stickers and paper clock hands attached with brads so they could rotate with ease. At another station, the children played bingo by crossing off the clocks with the proper times.

“When thinking about teaching kids skills, especially in after school, it’s important for them to have fun,” he said. “They don’t realize they’re learning.”

Ryan Johnson, watch expert and social media strategist for DiscountWatchStore.com, was on hand to help and pass out free analog watches to the children who attended. He believes even in this age of cell phones and digital watches, it is important for young people to learn how to tell time.

“It’s not just a reflexive action; you’re analyzing what the watch is saying,” he explained.

Mr. Jackson took it one step further.

“It’s part of affecting change in the community,” he said. “The more skills young people have… makes them more marketable in terms of the workplace and more effective members of the community.”

Meanwhile, Anjelys was picking it up.

“I put it on 3 o’clock,” she said, proudly displaying the correct time on her paper clock.