Photo credit: K.W. Barrett licensed under CC BY 2.0
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition
Noises from overhead aircraft, as well as nearby roads and rail tracks, impede learning in classrooms. Since I was the author of two of the early studies investigating the effects of outside noises on classroom learning, a group of students in Sharon, Massachusetts asked me to assist them with their research project which involved taking sound level measurements on the streets near three schools in Boston. They wanted to “see how much noise kids are actually exposed to when inside schools.” Dr. Erica Walker, Boston University School of Public Health, and Herb Singleton, Cross-Spectrum Acoustics, Inc. were their primary advisors.
In addition to reporting on the sound levels near the schools, the student team surveyed a group of elementary and middle school students to learn how aware they were of noises in their schools. After concluding that ”noise pollution impairs learning in children and affects schools in city neighborhoods,” the student team then made some recommendations to lessen noise in schools.
While the research conducted by these students supported earlier findings and recommendations to lessen noise in schools, this project is worth noting because these young students became aware of noise impacts on their own classroom learning and then decided to explore further how they could help reduce noise pollution in their town’s schools. Hopefully, these students will continue their interest in the harmful effects of noise and will join efforts to reduce noise in our overall environment. Their conclusion–“But the best solution is…Being Noise Aware”–makes me think they will.
