* The 2014-2015 senior student signature series features area senior class students – and their own “signature” outlooks on a topic of their choice. A new outlook will be posted on Cross-Counties Connect each Friday. The series opens with point of view comments by seniors from Mountain Lake Public High School. The opinions can be found by clicking on the Family & Faith link on the website’s header, and scrolling down to, and clicking on, Outlook. Their teachers are Brenda Feil, Kim Syverson and Debby Jass.
Finding Focus Through a Melody
A chaotic room, hundreds of thoughts swirling in my brain, a blank paper sitting in front of me – and I’m expected to focus? Focusing on one task may seem simple, but ignoring the students beside me talking about the upcoming game, the noise outside the classroom window, or simply even the hum of the fan in the corner of the room can be very difficult. Disruptions can completely shift a person’s thoughts and push a student to lose focus. I believe that music is very helpful when trying to sustain focus. To help maintain their focus, many students use music to block out noise and concentrate.
As a student, I understand the importance of concentrating in order to complete a quality assignment, and listening to music helps students achieve that focus. Some people believe that music is a distraction; however, many studies show that listening to music helps the brain make connections, showing that music helps more than it harms. According to a study by the Stanford University School of Medicine, “Music engages the brain over a period of time, and the process of listening to music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain attention.” Many teachers also agree that music is a vital tool. When students are accessing their music through headphones, they are less likely to get distracted. The classroom is then quieter, thus helping students’ focus remain at a high level. According to the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven “Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.”
Although music is something to aid a wandering mind, the devices from which it plays can be a distraction. With the right management, this situation can be avoided. A major concern with teenagers would be using phones for more than just music, accessing other apps such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, or texting. However, this is not a problem for everyone, and doesn’t have to be an issue if students focus on the task at hand rather than the apps on their phone, or just simply set their phones off to the side and not touch them. Another way to manage distractions involving music players in the classroom would be having permission to plug headphones into the computer and stream music off Pandora or live radios. If anything, having a teacher play music off their computer for everyone would be helpful. The slight disadvantage of this, as opposed to allowing headphones, is students have different music preferences and types to help them focus.
While I believe that music is constructive for nearly everyone, I also understand the need to control who should be able to use headphones and in what classes. My personal opinion is grades 9-12 should be allowed the privilege, depending on whether or not the teacher allows listening to music during work time in each class. Responsibility should be a characteristic of students by high school and should be practiced, especially when it comes to opportunities that help enhance learning and focus. When students are in the computer lab, they are often working on the computers doing independent work, such as typing a paper or working on an online college class. Because of this, headphones should definitely be allowed in the lab. Many students would agree typing a quality paper and getting thoughts to flow is very challenging when having to siphon thoughts above the murmur of voices throughout the room. Also, students who are capable enough to take a college course online surely are responsible enough to manage playing music and focusing on their work.
In conclusion, music is something bigger than noise. It is a motivator, something to help students focus, and something we need. If students follow the guidelines and show responsibility, they should be allowed to use music to improve attention and work in the classroom, something that could really benefit the learning of students at Mountain Lake Public School.