mere minutes

My attention span sucks.

Take my Brit Lit class for example. Well, I've actually been enjoying Brit Lit a lot more than I expected. It helps that my prof is actually fairly hilarious and interesting. Aside from the occasional spacing out, I find myself actually paying attention and focusing in that class.

At least, I find myself focusing well for 59 seconds at a time. And that is because every 60th second produces a loud click.

Two clicks, actually.

In Brit Lit, the clock is on the wall directly to my left. This clock is prime example of strategic choice and location of time keeping devices in classrooms.

When it comes to classroom clocks, the variety is almost non-existent. I find that the clocks in most of my classrooms lack a second hand.

A wise choice.

Students like me would see the constant movement of the second hand out of the corner of their eye and quickly be pulled into being hypnotized by the monotonous and steady journey the second hand takes around the face of the clock.
It's easier to be distracted by something that moves every second than it is to have your attention held captive by something that moves only once a minute.

Don't believe me?
What is more fascinating... a spider monkey after a venti mocha or a sloth after a swig of nyquil?
That's what I thought.
Once the clock has been picked out with students like me in mind, it is now time to find the best location.

FIRST. Never put the clock on the wall in the front of the class. If you choose to do so, you are asking for an anxious and unresponsive class of students. Instead of focusing intently on the prof and lecture, the students will be riveted by the oh so fascinating passing of time.
Trust me. Profs don't want to feel that a minute hand is more interesting than their lecture that took 8 years of college to be able to do.

The best location for a clock in a classroom is on the back wall. That way, if students try to look at the clock, they have to turn around and check the time. And trust me, there is no discreet way to turn around and check the time.

The very idea of having to turn around in an attention-catching manner discourages many-a-students. They rarely work up the courage to turn around; if and when they do, they know that they are sending a message to the prof that isn't far from the age-old road-trip question, "Are we there yet?"

Even if the clock is out of sight and lacking a second hand, it still can make its presence known.
Well, the one in my Brit Lit class does, and it does so by announcing the passing of each minute. It does so by marking the expiration of each minute not with one click but two.

In fact, I've closely observed the minute hand passing the threshold of each minute.
The minute hand actually falls back ever so slightly and momentarily before jumping forward, all the way to the appropriate minute.
It's almost as if the minute hand itself is tired of the monotonous task it performs day in and day out. It is so tired and unmotivated that it needs to step back and get a running start before leading us into the next minute of our life.

And at 10:58 in every Brit Lit class, the sluggish minute hand gets stuck for two minutes.
10:59 does not exist. It stays at 10:58 and then jumps all the way to 11:00 after a two-minute breather.
Fascinating.

more on this to come.