AW: Music is an intrinsic part of human nature and life.
EW: And although some teachers may view having music in the classroom as a distraction, or something that doesn’t even cross their minds, there are also some teachers who love to play music for their students. My name is Ellie —
AW: — And my name is Asha. Today, we’ll see how three teachers at MVHS perceive music and utilize it within a classroom setting.
EW: Let’s get right to it!
Benjamin Recktenwald
AW: History teacher Benjamin Recktenwald has been playing music in the classroom since the start of his teaching career, collecting over 1,000 songs in his iTunes library over the years, especially within his favorite genre, progressive rock. Let’s see what he has to say about music.
EW: So, why may students benefit from having music in the classroom?
BR: Every once in a while I get a student who says they can’t work in a completely quiet environment. They need some kind of noise to kind of just give them a baseline of sound. I even have one student right now who actually has an accommodation that she can listen to music while taking tests because it helps her just drown out everything else, helps keep her brain from getting distracted and she can focus on the test. And the music will just be kind of white noise in the background. So hopefully it doesn’t become a distraction, but it’ll also be a way to kind of just create a more pleasant mood in the room.
AW: When do you usually play music for your students?
BR: Pretty much between periods when people are coming and going, or if there’s a prep period and nobody’s here, I’m just getting work done. I’ll have music playing. Also, occasionally when students are doing work, there will just be music quietly in the background. Also, often at brunch and Tutorial, if no one’s doing any test makeups or any work like that, I’ll just play some music.
EW: How have you seen playing music in the classroom impact your classes?
BR: I hope it makes it more friendly and inviting. It also tends to open up discussions with students. Occasionally kids will come in and go, “Oh my God, that song is awesome. What was that? I’ve never heard that before.” Or occasionally I’ll get requests for playing certain music, which may or may not get granted, depending on my mood.
AW: And lastly, how have students influenced the music you like to play over the years?
BR: What happens sometimes is students will come in and be like, “I know that song!” And I had this really awesome experience about, what, maybe fifteen, ten years ago? I was playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and kids came in and I think it was right after brunch. The song was only about a minute into it, and it’s like a five and a half minute song. And some kids came in and started singing along, and I’m like, “What?” By the time the bell rang, like half the class was singing, I’m like, “What the hell is happening?” It was like a scene out of a musical, it was so weird. It was cool.
Isabella Arndt
EW: Our next guest is literature teacher Isabella Arndt. Since her student teaching days, she has built a habit of creating class playlists, where students can add their own favorite songs to be played in class.
AW: So, why do you like to play music in the classroom?
IA: When I was student teaching, I came up with the class playlist to start playing music because it was just too quiet. I was sitting and I was doing my work, and the kids were being active and doing their work, but you could hear a pin drop, and that drove me crazy. I just always wanted to hear something and I wanted to hear what they were listening to. So that was what prompted me to allow them to start creating a Spotify playlist. The other thing is that music is a way to build community, and having you guys pick the songs to go on to the playlist and have it playing while you work. I like to hear you guys talk in the background, like, ‘“Oh, I picked this song,” “Oh, I like this song.” And it’s just really a nice way to have everything together and constantly moving.
EW: Why did you decide to create classroom playlists?
IA: Sometimes at the beginning of the year, you’re listening to that one song every single day, and it’s the song you’re obsessed with. And then, by the time we get to the middle of the year, you’re like, “I cannot hear the song one more time.” So your tastes adapt and change, you as a person adapt and change. You’re not going to be the same senior at the beginning of the year compared to the end of the year. So I love to hear that progression and change of music tastes and what you like and what you don’t like. So it’s just a nice way to watch you guys change.
AW: How have you noticed music impacting the class environment?
IA: I think it makes it a lot lighter. I think it makes the classroom feel a lot more energized and active. Again, sometimes I can hear people singing along, sometimes I can hear people saying, “I like this song, I don’t like this song, this song plays all the time.” Sometimes I hear people say “Oh, wait, can we add songs to the playlist?” It feels like people are excited and are happy to listen to their music being played on the speaker. Especially because now we have all those phone restrictions and some people don’t have Bluetooth headphones, or some people can’t have their phones on them. So being able to give them that outlet to have some music playing is pretty nice.
EW: And finally, why are you passionate about music?
IA: Music makes connection and it brings a lot of hope, especially when people feel like it’s hopeless. So, like I said, it’s nice to listen to something that you feel comforted by, especially if the classroom isn’t your safe space — especially if the classroom isn’t your environment that you feel like you do great in. If you can hear a song that makes you feel like, ‘Okay, this isn’t too bad,’ then I feel like I won, I feel good and I’m like, ‘Okay, one good day, one good moment.’
Jay Shelton
AW: The last teacher we have invited is art teacher Jay Shelton. With a diverse music taste spanning decades and genres, from jazz to Chinese opera, music is also a constant in his classroom.
EW: So, why do you play music in your class?
JS: I just didn’t even think it’s an option not to because music’s everywhere I go. I have it in the car. I have it at home. Usually, when I’m going to bed. Kids have the option of listening to their own music most of the time on their headphones, but I’d say the majority listen to my music and don’t comment on it. And then all of a sudden they’ll ask about a song or bring it up years later or something, but there’s no reason. It’s just that music is better. Life’s better when music is playing — I always thought.
AW: How do you think playing music for your students influences the general classroom environment?
JS: I don’t really think that way, I just do it. I imagine it’s their view of the class. It makes the room what it is. Sometimes it’s not working or I forget and I don’t play and I don’t think the kids even notice. But after twenty minutes, they go, “How come no music is playing?” And I’ll realize, “Oh.” I think it’s enjoyable to hear different kinds of music — good music. I don’t play bad music. So I think subtly it’s making them smarter and they’re having a better time.
EW: And last question, what do you want your students to know about the benefits of music?
JS: The benefits are humanities. Music — it’s life. It’s the arts. The benefit is in itself. It’s intrinsic. Music makes you feel better. It should, it does for me, and I think you learn how music is connected. It’s just a wonderful thing, and it’s part of one of the great parts of being a human. Humanity is music.
AW: That concludes our musical discussion for today — it was definitely interesting to gain some perspective into the role of music in all of these teacher’s classes!
EW: That’s right, music really is an important piece of being human — whether you’re inside the classroom or not. We hope you enjoyed these teachers’ opinions about music.