You’re in English class, trying to concentrate on your work, but you just can’t. All your classmates are chitchatting, laughing and apparently having the most heated debates of their lives, all while you’re trying to stay on task. If only there was a way you could tune them all out! The reality is there is a solution, though a lot of teachers will disagree with it: listening to music.
In my classes, I will ask to listen to music after the lecture when we’re given work time, but the answer is typically, “No, music is distracting.” That bothers me, because one of the reasons I want to listen to music is to prevent myself from being distracted. My classmates talk a lot, and music helps me tune out the 17 different conversations to which I could be listening. I’ve found when we are permitted to put in our earbuds, it’s quieter, because everyone is minding their own business. Sounds like a win-win to me!
In addition to improving focus, music helps me stay motivated! Turning on my favorite song helps me get through homework I really don’t want to do. Or if I’m studying for a final exam – stress attack! – music helps me stay calm. A study by AARP in 2020 confirmed this. The study stated music causes improved mental wellbeing and lowered levels of anxiety.
Music influences your mood, too, so you can easily trick yourself into having a productive study session. Different genres of music, such as classical music, can even enhance your memory. So, when used right, music can be your studying performance-enhancer.
Music really can benefit students! I listen to music all the time: when I’m reading, when I’m doing homework, when I’m making art and when I’m working out. I even listened to it while I wrote this column! Let’s just say Spotify is a lifesaver for me and many other students, and our teachers should take that into consideration.
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Joanie McCormack is a freshman at Wilton Public School, where she is involved in volleyball, basketball, track and field, baseball, speech, band and choir. She enjoys art, music, sports and writing. Joanie is the daughter of Jesse and Cheryl McCormack, who are members of Capital Electric Cooperative.
