{"id":6361,"date":"2018-07-24T16:42:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T23:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.essaypop.com\/?p=6361"},"modified":"2020-01-18T15:43:45","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T23:43:45","slug":"music-in-the-classroom-a-rationale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.essaypop.com\/mixtapes\/music-in-the-classroom-a-rationale","title":{"rendered":"Music in the Classroom: A Rationale"},"content":{"rendered":"

My students take me to task whenever I forget to get a playlist started when it\u2019s writing time in my classroom. I\u2019ll give an assignment, a little time will pass, kids will start looking up from their writing like something\u2019s amiss, then one will invariably raise her hand and ask, \u201cAren\u2019t you going to play something?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Which is funny, because my students are all 12 and 13-year olds and the music they are requesting often contains 60s-era jazz, noodly 80s electronica and Nigerian Juju music. You would think that they would demand some Kanye or Meek Mill, but they want my weird, little \u00a0playlists because they say they are relaxing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s gratifying to hear this because creating classroom playlists has been, more or less, an ongoing hobby of mine since I began teaching in 1993. Back then, I\u2019d jam soul and reggae mixes, (lovingly recorded onto cassette tapes) into my boom box, just to alleviate some of the stress of being a new teacher. \u00a0I was the one who needed to relax. It turns out my students liked it too and a ritual was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to playlist aficionado, Emily Esposito, \u201c<\/span>Listening to music<\/span><\/a> releases dopamine and serotonin into the brain, helping you relax and stay focused. Music has an energizing effect, so your mood naturally improves. This state of mind helps you get in the zone and accomplish more.\u201d \u00a0This I know to be true for myself. Music definitely focuses me and I\u2019m surrounded by it constantly. I\u2019ve seen the same results, albeit anecdotally, with my and kids at home and with my students.<\/span><\/p>\n

I use all kinds of different modalities in the classroom. \u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s a cacophony of productive student chatter and discussion. \u00a0During these sessions, my students know that they had better be involved in the conversation. Sometimes it\u2019s time to hear one student\u2019s analysis or point of view. That kid knows he should stand and wait for the others who, in turn, know they should refrain from talking. \u00a0I dim the lights ever-so-slightly when it\u2019s time to dig into reading and turn them back up when it\u2019s time to transition to a new activity. I use <\/span>cues<\/b> in the classroom. \u00a0Some cues indicate, \u201cLet\u2019s get loud\u201d. \u00a0Others direct students to quiet down. The students are aware of the cues and know how to behave when they are presented.<\/span><\/p>\n

Music in classroom is one of many cues I use as a teacher to send the message that it\u2019s time to write. \u00a0In the culture I\u2019ve created in my classroom, if your not writing productively when the music is playing, then your kind of \u201cout of line\u201d. \u00a0You get \u201clooks\u201d, and no middle schooler wants to get called out with \u201clooks\u201d. And, as I\u2019ve said, they not only learn to expect music, they learn to like it.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s eternally gratifying for me to watch my students work through the complexities of their latest essay while enjoying a contemplative, musical adventure that begins with the gorgeous, jazz piano of Horace Silver on <\/span>Songs For My Father<\/i><\/b>, meanders into <\/span>Escalay<\/i><\/b>, the Kronos Quartet\u2019s interpretation of a Sudanese lament, then slides gently into Kraftwerk\u2019s, quirky, but beautiful, <\/span>Morgenspaziergang<\/i><\/b>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some argue that music is a distraction and that silence is the best backdrop for productive writing, and I understand their concerns, but I stand by my own experience. \u00a0Certainly, the choice of music matters. I tend to design playlists that are rich in slow to mid-tempo instrumental choices. Hip hop, sadly, is generally not a good choice, nor is a lot of my favorite free-form jazz (sorry Messrs. Coltrane and Coleman). \u00a0But if you make the right choices, you will be able to effortlessly create classroom environments that are conducive to productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a playlist that you can begin with.<\/b> \u00a0I call it \u201cthe classic\u201d, because it\u2019s one that I\u2019ve had around for years, and it\u2019s one that the students tend to request. \u00a0It\u2019s a <\/span>Spotify<\/b> playlist, which is my favorite streaming service:<\/span><\/p>\n