Help me give my students their own pair of headphones to help minimize distractions during independent classwork, allowing my special needs students a better opportunity to stay on task and focused on their assignments.
54.1% of the 1,116 students at my school come from economically, disadvantaged homes. A large portion of my own students come from homes in which they are being raised by their grandparents or extended family, and are one of multiple children in the household, meaning that my students often struggle purchasing required school materials.
This year, the greatest need for my students is to have their own personal set of earbuds to use in the classroom.
Technology in the classroom continues to evolve and our school is slowly adapting a "blended learning" type of classroom, where students work at their own pace throughout the week. While the idea is empowering and increases student responsibility in the classroom, it can be a bit of a disadvantage for my special education students. Over half of my students have difficulty staying on task, especially when completing their individual assignments. By providing my students with their own pair of earbuds to keep in the classroom, I hope to cut down on the distractions during independent work time, while also increasing their engagement and success.
My Project
Due to the challenges my students face at home financially, as well as the challenges they face daily in the classroom, my goal is to be able to give each student their own headphones to help them be as successful as possible in the classroom. Each one of my students will have a binder that is required to stay in my room at all times, and it will contain a binder pencil pouch to hold their necessary materials. Students will be required to keep their headphones in this pouch at all times so that they will always be prepared for class. This will also help reduce the chance of the headphones being lost and having to be replaced prematurely.
By having their own headphones, my special education students will have a better chance at staying on task during independent work and it will reduce the chances of distracting others as they work on various assignments at different times.
As a teacher who gets a first-hand look at the challenges, my students face on a daily basis, being able to provide them their own personal set of headphones would be a game-changer. Not only would it give them a better opportunity to succeed academically in the classroom, but it would also give my students something that is "theirs", that they don't have to share with a sibling, or worry about having their family pay for.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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