One exhausting aspect of teaching is non-stop noise. I am vulnerable to noise. I wince at the squeaky PA system. I cringe at yelling. I flinch at the chairs scraping on the floor and the slamming books. I try to remove myself from the noise when I need to and have lived long enough to recognize when it is time for me to get quiet!
What is the effect of this "overnoise" on our students and their ability to succeed academically? Does it deaden their ability to recognize that they need quiet personal time to rejuvenate? I think they are desensitized to noise. I think it affects their ability to communicate. Students often experience difficulty speaking coherently and carefully with attention to detail, meaning and annunciation. They yell a lot...or at least mine do. They use slang, cliches and movie/television talk continually. Throw a second language into the mix and grammar cacophony reigns! Don't get me wrong...there is a time and place for casual language. Language play and word possibilities fascinate me and there is a time and place for everything. I wonder, however how much language development is curtailed by sound clutter? My students transfer the casual language to their writing. This is one reason they have difficulty on standardized tests and essays. The social and cultural noise all around them seem to limit vocabulary development.
I want my students to be quiet within themselves so that they can think! This quiet experience may be one answer to improved test scores and students who enjoy school and learning. Let my students think!
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