You probably know someone who used music to focus and keep their mind straight. Whether that be a friend, family member, acquaintance, or even you, music can be a great way to silence any distractions and focus on the task at hand. In this article, you can find how music positively affects students, why music may not be wanted at school through a student’s earbuds or headphones, and different students’ opinions on the matter.

Different types of music have other effects on people’s mindsets and productivity. More upbeat music can give students more energy to complete tasks, which can make a significant effect on students who are tired most of the time. Verywell Mind, an award-winning resource on mental health and psychology, states that upbeat music can also improve processing time, while both upbeat and downbeat music can improve memory of the subject being learned. Music can also reduce stress, which may be helpful for students during or before tests, or just in their academic life in general since high amounts of stress are known to lower GPA scores.

Music is also known to affect your mood. Depending on the genre and topic of the song what type of effect that has on a person can vary. If a student listens to happier music or just music that makes them happy then their mindset toward what they’re learning at the moment may change positively. In relation, music can also reduce symptoms of depression which many students might struggle with. 

I interviewed a few students, asking their opinion on the matter. An anonymous 7th grader said that they think that students should be able to have them as long as students are getting their work done, and during independent work. They also think that if students prove to not be responsible with the privilege it shouldn’t be taken away from everyone, and instead should be only taken from that particular person. 

Another student shared their opinion, “ I think that music should be allowed during class. It helps students focus and also calms some students down. It also doesn’t affect learning very much since they can still hear and usually only have 1 earbud in with the other ear free to hear teachers’ directions and teaching. Kids should also be allowed to because if they finish work they should be able to freely be able to listen to music and also students should be allowed to listen to music during working time. “

One student says, “I think that although headphones may be a distraction for some people, adults continuously say that it distracts your working, but for some people, it calms people down and makes working more enjoyable. I also think that listening to music is not using your phone in class and it is an overreaction when people say that it’s a distraction. I think listening to music in class calms me down and when I’m listening to music I don’t talk a lot, even though I don’t talk a lot in general it still makes me talk less in class. Also when we are doing tests in school and you have to wear headphones most people are silent so I feel like if students listened to music, and the teacher tells them to not talk when we are doing work then it would be better.”

Overall, earbuds in class would be a positive thing for some students, and those who don’t want to can simply decide not to listen to them. Students should be expected to be responsible with their music and if they aren’t then that privilege should be taken away from that student alone.