So much for thinking outside the (boom) box
Jennifer McDaniel, an English teacher in Downington, Penn., may not have known that permitting her 9th graders to plug in their iPods during a writing exercise violated the establishment’s acceptable standards for learning.
But she did see the benefits.
“For the first time this year, my entire 9th grade class is on-task,” McDaniel writes in the current edition of Teacher Magazine. “….Everyone is, miraculously, working on the same thing at the same time. The room is almost silent.”
Soon, McDaniel integrated “iPod Fridays” — a half hour spent cocooned in each student’s music of choice — into the classroom routine.
“I grant that some people need absolute quiet to work their best,” McDaniel acknowledges. “….But there seems to be just as many of us who can’t ‘enjoy the silence,’ as the old Depeche Mode song would have us believe. Plenty of productive people work best with background noise, and as adults who can decide what’s best for us, we create such noise in a variety of ways: the radio during morning commutes, the evening news as we cook dinner, the cozy chatter that envelopes us as we work or read at our favorite coffee shop.”
Citing research that supports the theory that listening to music and learning are not incompatible, McDaniel is backed by Elon Harjes Hartjes, the publisher of the “Teachers at Risk” blog.
As McDaniel found out, the true definition of incompatibility is logic butting heads with hidebound educational tradition, no matter how outmoded.
“iPod Fridays” ceased to exist after McDaniel — then a first year teacher — shared her experiences with a classroom veteran. “It’s a distraction, you can’t control what they’re listening to. PEDs (personal electronic device) are not allowed,” the vet informed the rookie.
Nor, McDaniel reasons, can she “hear and censor my students’ thoughts.”
There’s that logic again.
“The death of iPod Fridays saddens me,” McDaniel reports. “I’ve tried other rewards (granola bar, anyone?), but none hold the same allure that just thirty minutes of the freedom to listen to the music of one’s choice did. And ironically, without this music, Fridays haven’t been as quiet.”
Hi,
I noticed that you spelled my name incorrectly. It should read Elona Hartjes, publisher of Teachers at risk.
Ms. Hartjes, did you consider that the typist who misspelled your name may have been listening to music while she was typing your name. That frequently happens.
Ha! Good one, JohnH. Thankfully, it wasn’t a matter of iPod diversion (which would have diluted the point of the posting). Rather, it was a simple case of running out the door on a Friday afternoon without re-reading the copy close enough. My apologies to Ms. Hartjes and my thanks to her for sharing the research on this topic. Very interesting.
–Steve Giegerich
Wow johnh, way to consider other methods of doing things. Did you know that most surgeons have music of one type or another playing while they repair your innards?
I am sad to read that some teachers are so stiffling in their approach to teaching. How can education progress, with the changing times, if teachers are not allowed to try new strategies. This strategy was clearly working and it is very unfortunate that it had to be removed. If teachers aren’t willing to try new things education will fail in its attempt to motivate students. Kutos to McDaniels for making motivational choices in her classroom to promote learning. Do we have to fear that veteran teachers are hindering this generations learning process? We cannot afford to have less educated adults lead our country in the future.
This is one of the most short sighted policies I have ever heard of.
I could never do my homework in silence as a kid. Couldn’t stay focused.
Always had background TV or music on. and I was a Straight A student.
College same way and had a 3.8 GPA.
And to this day have always had a music station on the radio or internet at my jobs. I would never accomplish anything any other way.
Total silence is terribly distracting to me.
Obviously from this teacher’s experience I was not a odd student.
As long as everyone’s MP3 player (I assume all do not have IPods) is at a low level, doesnt’ this create a quiet atmosphere for those who do want the quiet to write? It seems like this is a solution that provides “noise” for those who need it and quiet for those who don’t.
That said, I have plenty of students that don’t know how to turn down their volume. If I can hear it at my desk, it’s too loud for your ears! But that can be addressed by the teacher.
A few years ago, I was observing at a Ft Zumwalt high school. The teacher had written on the board “No headphones”. All I could think was “is that necessary”, but obviously it was. The students could be so rude that they would be listening to their MP3 players during lectures! I can only think that the teacher who “tsk tsk’d” Ms McDaniel was wondering how to handle that it was not allowed in her classroom, but in others. Then again, McDaniel only allowed it for 1/2 hour on Fridays so it wasn’t like there were not any rules or boundaries.
Hey Steve,
If you are going to reference the Teachers’ at Risk blog, shouldn’t you include a link, too?