My students are hard working fifth graders who have chosen the virtual learning option due to Covid-19. I have seen a different side of most of them because they aren’t at school, facing the social challenges of making mistakes in front of their peers. Online they are asking for help, encouraging their peers, and not engaging in any negative conversations about each other, which for some was a challenge in person. They are working to keep focused on reading, language arts, math, social studies and science, but need help controlling their understandably distracting home environments. I have a set of twins who also have three pre-school siblings, one who has 7 siblings, some with parents and siblings working at home, some with dogs that bark, and one with turtles, turkeys, ducks, and goats...!!! They are working HARD to stay focused!
What I have noticed is that the few who have over-the-ear headphones with microphones seem to stay more focused through the day.
The students who don’t have headphones began the year with earbuds, but with daily use, their ears became sore. My students want and need good headphones to help focus on their schoolwork.
My Project
Virtually everything in my students’ homes is distracting, especially to the ones who don’t have their own over-the-ear, padded headphones. I find the few who wear well-made headphones stay on task better, even when distractions happen in the home. Please help raise the focus in our virtual classroom. Parents already bought earbuds, but, we have experienced that they are quite painful when worn this frequently, and students don’t wear them anymore. In my own experience, just wearing my headphones is a visual sign to my family that I am “at school” and they are more considerate regarding interrupting me. I notice that students with headphones are less likely to be directly interrupted by parents and siblings during the day. I hope to provide enough headphones that school age siblings who a who also need headphones could receive a set because we can hear their teachers talking, too. believe having quality headphones will help keep all my students focused on instruction. My students agree. Thank you!
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