If one were to walk down the hallways of Greenwood or any high school these days, one would see students wearing their Airpods, jamming out to probably Kanye West or Taylor Swift. According to Spotify demographics, Millennials and Gen-Z take up 62% overall, which is roughly 388.12 million people. With a new phone policy enforced at Greenwood, students are unable to listen to their music from their phones, resulting in teachers playing their trendy playlist that may seem to many, uncomfortable and struggle with focusing. That being said, students should be able to listen to music at their will.
According to Rosalinda Fabian, a junior, she confessed if she would stay on task whilst listening to music, “It depends on what I am listening to. If I am listening to something upbeat and hype, probably not. But if it has barely any lyrics and is a lot calmer, then yes,” Many would relate to this, as hype music is a sharp contrast to the tedious work they are trying to complete. Rosa enjoys listening to softer music, including Lana Del Rey. Therefore, if she could play any song for her class “anything by Lana Del Rey,” specifically “Cinnamon Girl.” Rosa confirms that music contributes to her overall success, as she plays, sings, and listens to a lot of it.
Aydan Hamidova, junior, claims that music helps her focus as it drowns out the background noise and allows her to stay locked in on her assignments without distractions. Aydan doesn’t have a specific genre she listens to, “I just listen to whatever I’m in the mood for.” She states that she would much rather listen to her own beats than her teachers because “the chance that the teacher and I have the same music taste is very low.” However, she compliments Ms. Clark’s classroom playlist as it has the best throwback songs.
Aubrey Savage, also a junior, establishes that she can stay on task while listening to music, no matter the genre. Music also helps her focus very well and she can’t pay attention without it. Her favorite genre to listen to in class is pretty much anything, but specifically pop music. “If I could play any song, I think it would be a Queen song,” She mentioned that Ms. Williams has the best classroom playlist; Bahamian music.
According to research conducted by the National Institutes of Health, listening to music in class has improved concentration, memorization, and motivation, leading to a more enjoyable classroom atmosphere. The common theme for most teenagers is they would much rather listen to their own tunes rather than their teachers. Overall, music contributes to the success of students, whether it is through listening, playing, singing, or musically related.
