The clocks. While a small problem compared to other, much bigger issues at BHSECQ, it remains a burden that students and faculty face every day. The attempts to fix them or make them all the same and the correct time only last for short periods until they get mixed up again. In many of the classrooms at BHSECQ, the clocks are either unmoving, or show the incorrect time. The unpredictability of what clocks are working in what classrooms makes it difficult to rely on them for accurate time.
But were the clocks always like this? Was there a time when they were all fully working, and the BHSECQ community could really rely on them? According to Principal Laura Hymson, these clocks have been here even longer than BHSECQ has. All the clocks in the school are connected to one main electrical system and are changed from one control board, and the problem lies with the internal system that controls them. While the head custodian is called periodically to help facilitate the repairs and put another request into fix this problem, the process is a slow one because many schools also face this very same problem.
Another effect of this problem is that since students are unable to rely on the clocks, they instead use their phones to check the correct time. This causes students to take out their phones during class more. A student at BHSECQ certainly agrees with this. When asked if they thought students check their phones an unhealthy amount, they said, “Yes, I do. I think it starts with students checking their phone for time, and with the sheer level of addiction within students it leads to more phone usage overall.” Principal Hymson thinks “it’s a real maybe” whether having working clocks in classrooms that students are able to rely on will bring down phone usage during class. A bigger issue that the broken clocks cause for faculty is “how the clocks make it hard to run a class.” Teachers come to Principal Hymson often to bring up this problem, and how it poses a threat to starting and ending class on time, as well as to students who aren’t able to get to class on time because of clock inconsistencies.
While there are digital clocks in some classrooms, they are only a temporary solution that some teachers decided to use.Though digital clocks are an option, they push people to depend more on technology and lose the vital ability to be able to interpret an analog clock. In terms of a more permanent solution, Principal Hymson has two ideas, both of which would take an abundance of work and time. The first solution is that “magically the DOE clock repair people come and would be able to fully fix what has been broken for a while, which means replacing all the clocks, and also fixing the internal mechanism of time keeping.” The second solution would be to “use our school money to invest and switch over to a different system, that isn’t relying on a central clock.” Students and faculty certainly hope that one of these more permanent solutions will be enacted soon.