02/25/2026
For parents and educators... "Quiet Day" might elicit a few giggles, but let's encourage this day to be a catalyst for enhancing the acoustics in our homes and classrooms.
Did you know that poor acoustics contributes to too much background noise and/or too much reverberation, which can cause problems with how an individual understands speech; reads and spells; behaves at home or in a classroom; or concentrates???
It is especially important to have a quiet classroom if a student has hearing loss in one or both ears; an ear infection or fluid in the ear; a learning disability; auditory processing disorder; speech and language delay; and/or attention problems.
Some simple ways to make an environment quieter include placing area rugs in the room; hanging curtains or blinds in the windows; hanging softer materials such as felt or corkboard on the walls; or adding felt pads or tennis balls to the bottoms of chair legs. Noise-canceling headphones or earbuds can be helpful for children and adults that are sensitive to noise. Hand signals and visual timers can be effective strategies to gain attention without creating additional noise.
