In education circles, it is often viewed as a positive if a classroom is quiet. Indeed, there are times when a quiet classroom is evidence of engaged learning. However, this is not always the case. There are times when the presence of classroom clamor is actually a sign of learning rather than off task behavior.
This legalization of noise is especially applicable to the MCL classroom. At any given moment there are individual students who may each be working on a completely different task if not standard. Since not all tasks are created alike (some require conversation and physical activity while others require silent reading and written response), it is reasonable to expect varying levels of noise in the MCL classroom.
It took me awhile to sort this out this year. At times, I have pushed a little too hard for silence as students have worked through the standards. After awhile, however, I came to realize that the vast majority of the few conflicts I was having with students involved the issue of silence. My excessive expectations for silence were actually a big part of an evolving classroom climate problem. Eventually, I realized this and pondered the real issue more carefully.
The first question I asked myself was why I felt it was so important for students to be quiet. There were two answers to this question. First, I was still hanging on to the old adage that claimed, "Children should be seen and not heard." I simply had to make the choice to let this outdated view go. Aiding me in this effort, was the wealth of pedagogical research indicating the value of dialogue and movement in the middle school classroom. This made sense to me.
However, I found that there was a second and more noble reason that I had become the Quiet Czar of Room 108. While it was true that some students needed to converse and move about to best meet certain standards, there were also students who required quiet to complete selected standards, particularly those requiring reading. If the volume spigot were to be opened, would this type of student learning be a casualty? Obviously, I needed to do more than just taking my iron hand off the volume knob.
It was then that I considered the school, rather than just the classroom, as a place of learning. I began offering students the option of working in the library if they required silence. Some took me up on this; others hadn't minded the noise at all and were able to engage in focused tasks despite the ruckus. The hallway was another oasis of quiet, though not quite as distraction free as the library. A third option was the local community of classrooms that made up the wing. I knew the teaching schedule of my neighbor quite well, and he was more than willing to accept some silent workers from time to time.
While the jury is still out, I have noticed a shift back toward a more positive classroom environment. The key seems to have been that I needed to work WITH my students rather than AGAINST them. And so my students have taught their teacher another lesson!
Another positive option is earplugs. A box of disposable earplugs is cheap and can be effective with students who need quiet to concentrate as well as for students who are easily distracted.
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