We have seen a huge increase to students listening to music throughout the day. They are disengaged in the hallways, often ignoring requests by staff as they cannot hear through the music. We also have several students who hide their wireless headphones under their hair or hood and listen to music during instruction. Additionally, staff and students have spent countless hours looking for someone's lost "air pod."
Our School Governance Team voted to eliminate wireless headphones. We feel that this will reduce the power struggle with adults, increase student engagement, and put a stronger priority on teaching and learning. We recognize that many students often work better while listening to music. Students will be permitted to listen to music with hard wired headphones only AND when teachers grant permission. We started discussing this with students last week and they are not happy about this change. Many have expressed that it is "their right" to listen to music at school. Please understand that we are not denying them opportunity to listen to music while on campus as there will be permitted times. Instead, we are re-committing to our school vision of "developing communication, curiosity, and critical thinking skills." If our students are plugged into music all day, we are hindering their social skills.
We understand that there will be a transition period where students will need to purchase wired headphones. So, for this week, we will just be issuing friendly reminders to put away wireless headphones. On March 11, we will start confiscating wireless headphones.
We also ask that parents reduce the amount of texting they send to students during the day. Sixth grade teachers have noted that students with smart watches get a lot of messages from home. Additionally, "my mom is texting me" is a common response when staff ask students to put their phone away. Students MUST ask an adult on campus if they can access their phone. Staff will always comply with this as long as it is not in the middle of instruction. You are always welcome to send a message to your student by emailing Charisma Johnson at cjohnson7@sandi.net. She is happy to print message and get it delivered to your student.
Thank you for supporting student engagement.
