- 05-24-99 Vn.
Considerable evidence bears out that
children in a classroom setting have far greater
difficulty hearing and understanding than has been
previously recognized.
Some causes are the high number of ear
infections children suffer and the way in which the
teachers may not make their speech clear and directed
towards the students. The poor acoustics in many
classrooms and the arrangement student work areas also
contribute to this.
Short periods of failure to receive
clear comprehensible speech can, in itself, cause
attention deficit and create poor long-term academic
results
A solution to this is "surround
sound" which consists of a small microphone, worn by
the teacher, and several loud speakers placed around the
room. People, increasingly and with much satisfaction,
use a form of this via stereo reception in their homes.
This has been tried and proven fully effective in
providing good hearing by students in the classroom.
The cost varies subject to quality and
room size, but it appears that ,000. will easily do one
classroom. But, since school systems lack funds, where
will the money come from? HOHA's solution is to
bring together, on a local basis, small and large
businesses and ask for tax-deductible donations for
classrooms in their towns.
As part of this HOHA has, but needs
more, volunteers to work with local businesses to obtain
funding and to purchase surround sound systems from a
list of national, well known, companies (as furnished by
HOHA) who will offer prices below their normal retail
amounts.
Our request here is for volunteers with
an interest in promoting better classroom hearing in
their community.
Please email us at WHanna@hohadvocates.org
