Noise: Yours and Other Peoples'

It's Sunday and some sadistic soul has parked on the street outside our apartment. Their car alarm, I think, is set to honk the horn rhythmically for several minutes and then cut off for one minute. I called 311 with a noise complaint- the cops have not shown up yet. We're going on four hours now, and it's hellish. Only 60 seconds of relief every few minutes. My head hurts.

Our students often complain about noise. I think some of them with attentional issues are in a 12:1 setting because noise affects them so profoundly. Classrooms are noisy. At PSOhYes, the student I worked closely with often deplored the noise, sometimes loudly (which was necessary to be heard, in fairness!), and he was right. I can see how it can be hard to work if you're sensitive to noise, which he was.

Isn't that the received wisdom about kids, though, that they can't concentrate when it's noisy? I feel like that old truism is why we had to do math in silence when I was a kid, and why we still have quiet reading time today. At moments, it's how we ask students to show us that they are working very hard. We try to tell ourselves now that a certain quality of noisy chaos is a sign of engagement and signifies learning. I believe this; I think it's true, even though it's hard to tolerate for very long. But what about kids that really can't handle noise? And then, what do you when those selfsame kids are the ones making the noise?

We had been preparing for the last few weeks for a grade-wide exposition of social studies projects that was really a big deal, and happened last week. Activity in our room was frenzied and sometimes very noisy. The energy level was high and approached frenetic as we ticked down to the event. The kids were wired, even as they occasionally put their heads in their hands, heads on the table, heads under coats, to get a little down time.  

In addition to parents, administrators and teachers from other schools came. Classrooms were rearranged; work our students did was placed in other exhibits; our classroom was "invaded" (it felt like) by other kids' work and many, many people. Our students knew how to check out for a few minutes when there was no one around, but now there was no escape. It was a long two days.

I'll be curious to see what happens to the noise level when things get back to normal. Will the class be quieter than other classrooms? Or will they make their own noise until they can't stand themselves anymore and then shout for quiet? Or something in between?