As we walk the halls to our next period our ears pick up the noise of the songs like “As it Was” by Harry Styles, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake, or even “Houdini” by Dua Lipa.
Torrance High’s overhead speaker system plays 1 minute of music before the tardy bell. This creative choice was implemented in the 4th quarter of last year to “evoke positive emotions and well-being while also reminding students to get to class on time” as Mrs. Mendoza, the college and career center coordinator stated in her message to the students last March. This email was delivered to all Tatars to inform them about this change and to let the student be able to share their thoughts on what songs should be played using a survey via Google form. It listed pre-picked songs from past generations to more contemporary pieces. The music during passing periods is not exclusive to Torrance High, with Madrona Middle School and other schools in the area following suit. This is because “The songs are uploaded through the district”. Ms. Kaneshiro says.
The music playing isn’t a manual operation; instead, “it’s programmed into the bells schedules application it will automatically play”, Ms. Kaneshiro explains.
Junior Alana Medved had positive notions about the music but had some criticism of the song choice. “The music for the bell is helpful to know how to get to class but they don’t play good music – some of them are bops though, some of them I would like to get down to,” she says. Alana expressed her desire for the previous year’s survey to be redone with more relevant songs for the youth.
Looking from the lens of a teacher, Mr. Chung states this about the effectiveness of the music: “Students can actually hear when the music starts when they’re in the buildings- but since the speakers aren’t reaching the outside it’s kind of hard for them to hear”. His general thoughts on the selections of songs complement those of Mevded, saying that there is a variety of music new and old but also that “some new music I have no idea what it is, I’m assuming that the students know”.
The overarching consensus of the students is that one minute of music is an effective way to be saved before the bell, but it could use some advances in music direction.
