Triton has a very strict “No headphones or earbuds in class” rule, unless otherwise allowed by your teacher. But of course, who follows the rules? A majority of Triton students end up hiding their Bluetooth earbuds under their hair or their hoods – and sometimes they even wear them visibly.
Many students listen to pass the time because they consider their classes to be boring or unnecessary or not worth focusing on. However, some students claim that listening to music while working helps them focus. The question is, does this really help students focus? And should teachers truly believe them?
A freshman student here at Triton, who asked to remain anonymous, said that music helps them focus in class, when doing their work and when the teacher is talking.
“I do [listen to music in class]… like, every time,” This person said, “Very often.”
Mr. Craig Kemp, Triton’s new music teacher, agreed that music can help some students focus – though, he mentioned something called “state-dependent learning.” An example of this would be, if a student is studying for a math test with music on, they might need to have that exact music playing during said test to perform well and get a good grade.
“Are you always gonna have that music available to you when you need to recall that information and/or use that information?” Kemp asked, adding, “If you’re not always going to have that resource available to you when you need to recall or use that information, then it’s important that you learn it without that resource.”
Math teacher Ms.Heather Walter had a similar opinion, and she included her own experiences in her responses, empathizing with the students who claim to need music to focus.
“I personally know that music helps me focus when I’m working independently,” she said. “But I cannot focus on anything else that’s happening around me when music is on.”
She did, however, say that she finds it disrespectful when people are listening to music while she’s trying to teach. “I get it, I also like to listen to music. I listen to it while I’m working,” she said. “I don’t listen to it while I’m trying to listen to other people because I think it’s distracting, and I think it’s a little rude.”
Walter continued to explain that a majority of the time when students have asked her a question she had already answered them, and those students are the ones who had their earbuds in and didn’t hear her answer the question as they could not realize she was talking to them.
The moral of the story, does music help students focus? Yes, it can, but only in certain and specific situations. Does this mean Triton should lift the no headphones rule and allow students to wear earbuds or headphones whenever they please? In the long run, and for the benefit of the students, the answer from most people would probably be no.
