Imagine reading a book where every fourth word is blacked out or missing completely. Imagine reading this article without every fourth word. Wouldn’t make much sense would it? [Editor's note: This article was written by CRI's President Werner Braun. For more information, visit the CRI Blog.]

 

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Now imagine your child at school, hearing only three out of every four words the teacher is saying. According to one study, if that teacher and that student are in a classroom without carpeting, and sounds are reverberating across the room, that may be exactly what is happening.

 

It has been documented that excessive noise and reverberation interfere with speech intelligibility, resulting in reduced understanding and therefore reduced learning. Under these conditions, tests have shown that listeners with normal hearing can understand only 75 percent of the words read from a list. We’re not talking about children with hearing problems here; we’re talking about children with normal hearing.

We have long touted the acoustical benefits of carpet here at CRI. Carpet's ability to absorb noise is well documented as one of its most pleasing benefits whether in a classroom setting or the home or workplace.

How many times have you seen where a teacher had to turn off the air conditioning in a room just to speak to the classroom? In a survey by the General Accounting Office, school administrators ranked poor acoustics as the most significant problem affecting the learning environment. Twenty-eight percent of responding schools, representing 11 million children, identified acoustics as being unsatisfactory or very unsatisfactory.

Researchers at a conference of the Acoustical Society of America presented evidence that excessive noise levels impair a young child’s speech perception, reading and spelling ability, behavior, attention and overall academic performance. Another study done by two University of Florida colleagues found that students beyond the first and second row in a typical classroom hear only 50 percent of what their teacher says.

It’s pretty simple really: if kids can’t hear well, they won’t pay attention, and they won’t learn. Figure in the fact that classroom sizes are growing and more and more kids are being taught in a second language, and you understand the scope of the problem better.

Carpet is one of the best noise-absorbing acoustical materials. Carpet absorbs 10 times more airborne noise than any other flooring materials and as much as most other types of standard acoustical materials. Carpet also will reduce noise resulting from students sliding chairs or desks on the floor. It can also keep the sounds of footsteps in a hallway from disrupting classes in session.

Carpet is not a solve-all remedy for the acoustical problems surrounding our nation’s schools, a problem that has been overlooked and misunderstood for some time. It is, however, one of the easiest things a facility manager can do to improve the learning environment.

 

(Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of The Housekeeping Channel.) 

 

 

About The Carpet and Rug Institute

The Carpet and Rug Institute, headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, is the national trade association for the carpet and rug industry. Its members are manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers, representing over 90% of all carpet produced in the United States. CRI is the source for science-based information and insight into how carpet and rugs can create a better environment — for living, working, learning and healing. For more information, visit the CRI Blog.