SEARCY, AR. (LP) — According to a Kaiser Family Foundation Poll, 53% of teens ages 12 to 17 do something else while studying. At 87%, listening to music was the most popular side activity. Listening to music is proven to make you less anxious. It also exercises your brain and makes you more relaxed, creative, open minded, and focused. Studies also show that this quiets the class down, enabling everybody to work adequately. So, should students be allowed to have their earbuds in while they work in class?
I asked some fellow students at my school about teachers they knew of who allowed earbuds in class, and was inevitably led to English teacher Calandra Cook. A short interview was conducted and she was willing to voice her opinion on the topic. “In the past, I have allowed students to listen to music during a research or writing project or while taking a test. I have done this for a couple of reasons. First, it keeps chatter at a minimum during a time when most students need to center on the task at hand. Secondly, it allows me to check in with students individually without distracting their neighbors. Finally, I understand and appreciate that many students learn and focus better when they have music playing, and I want to offer them the chance to do their best work.”
It’s important that students are allowed to use their best technique to achieve a good grade on given assignments. Letting classmates use earbuds is also a simpler way than playing music out loud because students can pick and choose if they want to hear it or not.
Calandra states, “There is a lot of research that supports the notion that music can reduce anxiety, alleviate stress, and calm the brain.” This is essential to getting your work done. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to accomplish things when your mind is running at 100 mph and you can’t seem to focus? Music can help most people with this, especially in school.
I figured the best way to get a good viewpoint on this topic would be to dive right into the heart of the school, and talk to a student. Senior at SHS, Haylee Tarno says, “I can focus better listening to something I like, and drowning out everything else.” While working in a high school environment, it can be tough to try and ignore talking and giggling amongst your classmates. It can also make it very hard to concentrate on your assignment or test. Being able to plug in your headphones and tackle the obligation before you sounds like the most appropriate way to stay focused and get done in the time given.
As I expressed before, music can make one feel much more creative and open-minded. Haylee agrees that music can help nudge you in the right direction to get a better result on your writing assignments. “I think that it makes me think out of the box when I’m writing. Not only do I think and use more words that I normally wouldn’t, but it helps me write down what I’m thinking better.”
Not all students are good at being creative, especially when it comes to writing stories or essays. As you’ve read, music has the power to deeply relax us and focus the brain. Not only that, it can also put us in a new state of mind that is concentrated strongly enough to quiet the class down for the entire period. Many people would agree that this is an opportunity we should take advantage of in classrooms today.
