Victoria Landa | On 02, Mar 2016

To all my music lovers who rely on listening to music as a way to escape from reality, you might feel frustration about the recent announcements that students are no longer allowed to listen to music through headphones while transitioning classes.

As a student, I can say that the few minutes we have between classes helps me prepare myself for the next 45-minute class that may seem like an eternity. This privilege gives me a chance to decompress, enjoy some “me time,” and unwind from the previous class.

As I have heard it, the reason behind taking away this privilege was complaints from teachers that students do not cooperate and follow the rules. So to solve that, they added another rule.

Teachers demand respect and want us to meet their standards, but often use a strict and unpleasant approach. Instead of telling us what we can and can’t do, why not let us know why and provide a solution or compromise? Why can’t we start a dialogue?

Though their reasoning is sound, and kids sometimes do break the rules, have our authority figures thought about the way they enforce these rules?

Students are supposed to have good relationships with their teachers. A mutual respect needs to be reached between students and staff so these rules won’t seem so contrived.