When I'm not lecturing and students are doing private work, especially writing, I have a hard time justifying why they should not be allowed to listen to their mp3 players quietly. I think at worst, it keep students who might be disruptive, busy. At best, I think that it can be calming, inspirational, fun, and helpful for students. I think there has to be some standards, such as, everyone using their own player, not distracting your neighbor or the class with discussion about or volume of the music, and staying on task. I think with a few ground rules, though, there can be a lot of benefits to allowing it.
I think about my own study habits; I have a coffee shop I do nearly all of my work in. I go to a small chain, so I have a few different options for locations, but I choose this particular one, not because it's closest to my house, but I really like the music it plays. I find it helps me concentrate, yet allows me to feel like I'm not sitting in an isolation chamber. How can I say that students should absolutely not be allowed to listen to music while working, when as a student myself it's a major requirement for productivity?!
I also think it's kind of interesting how much value our culture puts on music and on education separately. They're found to both be inspirational, important, valuable. Yet mixed together, it's the breeding ground for chaos and disorder? To me, it just sounds like nonsense and paranoia.
I think that the non-mp3 player school rule will be a tough one for me to implement in my own classroom.
Katie, if you had the flexibility to do so, it could be really interesting to put this issue on the agenda when you discuss class rules and the classroom environment. In general terms, opening the topic of "how I study best?" and "what kind of learner am I?" can lead to some useful discussions, and can convey a strong message of respect to your students.
ReplyDeleteyo katie, i'm curious about your school's policy about mp3 players... while the school i'm placed in has some pretty stringent no-electronic-devices rules on the books, i've yet to see these actually enforced beyond some security guards yelling "put away that phone!" in the halls between classes. what does your teacher think about the use of personal music players in the classroom? additionally, if she was not a big fan of these technologies, would she allow you to bend her classroom rules when you're teaching? cause that would be pretty cool- i've seen some really rowdy students settle down almost immediately when allowed to listen to music whilst doing classwork...
ReplyDeleteYo Caitlin, I think the general school policy is no phones, mp3 players, etc., though it seems like they are always making appearances with limited repercussions. Normally it's just "I need you to put that away." That's pretty close to the policy in the classroom, if there are lectures or discussions going on, music players need to be put away, though it seems like their presence is tolerated during quiet individual work, so long as they aren't obvious or a distraction. I really like the idea of allowing students to use them during this time and would be interested in implementing this rule while I teach, though I'm not sure how highly that is looked upon by the administration.
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