School Lunchroom Music - Is it a Good Idea?

Many schools in Georgia and across the nation have had an interesting policy in place throughout the years during the lunch break - music is played over loudspeakers.

The hiccup is that not everybody is in agreement with the policy because of what happens when the music is playing. 

"Crabapple Crossing [located in North Fulton County] has a draconian lunchroom policy which prohibits the children from speaking while the music is playing," writes one parent on the website iPetitions.

It appears there are schools that pipe in music over the cafeteria's sound system during lunch to keep the noise level down and to have the children focus on eating their food. 

Basically what happens is that while the music is playing there is no talking amongst students, faculty, teachers and any visiting parents. When the music is turned off, conversations may resume.

Several Fulton County schools follow this same policy.

"The goal is to give a social outlet to the students but also keep a calmer atmosphere so they can focus on eating," writes Susan Hale of Fulton County Schools in an e-mail to Patch. 

A study that was done in 1999 entitled, "Music as a Classroom Tool," points out the effects of playing music in an elementary school lunchroom. The authors write, "More impressive than the reduction in noise level, however, was the drop in behavioral intervention required by lunchroom supervisors, lowering the occurrence of intervention by 65 percent."

Online Athens wrote in 2007 that there were schools in Forsyth and Cobb counties that used a similar practice and found that students were focusing on their food while the music was playing.

This past April, an article on npr.org featured a school in Denver that took the policy a step forward and had a local musician perform live while students ate their lunch.

"It calms me down, and it makes my heart beat slow instead of fast," said second-grader Edson Jimenez. While another student said, "Why do we need a silent lunch? Is it because we're too loud or something?"

But many parents are not happy with the policy, like this anonymous parent who writes on iPetition, "They need time in the day to feel free and unrestrained and just be kids. But, instead, at CCES [Crabapple Crossing Elementary School] they are treated like Pavlov’s dogs. The music cycling on and off is simply a form a [of] behavior modification and conditioning. It does not teach them personal responsibility, independence or self control."

What do you think? 

Do you agree that intervals of music in the school cafeteria during lunch is an interruption for the children? 

Or is it a way to have students focus on eating their food and keeping noise levels down? Tell us below in comments.