The Latest from VEA

From speaking over noisy classrooms and buses to calling in students from recess, educators’ vocal cords are under a lot of stress. It can be high-risk work: On average, teachers are more than twice as likely as non-teachers to suffer from vocal problems. That’s not shocking, given how much time educators spend talking and how they often must project their voices in large, chatty classrooms.

Because the teaching profession is made up mostly of women, educators can also be especially vulnerable: Females ages 40 to 55, according to researchers, are at highest risk. Women tend to have smaller larynxes, or voice boxes, and their vocal cords vibrate more quickly. In addition, female vocal cords are shorter and thinner than those of males. And the more classroom experience, the less protection against years of accumulated strain.

You don’t have to go home hoarse, though. Here’s some advice from NEA on how you can prevent issues or soothe symptoms in your vocal pipes:

• Give ‘em a break (your vocal cords, that is). Take rest periods during the day to give your voice a breather. Give students a quiet seat assignment or ask them to do presentations so you aren’t the one talking. Try to facilitate discussions rather than leading them, which is good practice anyway. If you can get a break during lunch, enforce a “no talking” rule while you eat.
• Raise your signals, not your voice. Students get noisy and a little rambunctious and suddenly it’s classroom chaos. It’s easy to lose your patience and yell. Instead, try doing the opposite—stop talking and remain silent until the class settles down. Clap your hands or turn off the lights as a way to get their attention. In other words, use non-vocal signals.
• Sip your way through the day. Drink lots of water! Keep a water bottle handy and keep taking sips even as you move about the classroom. Vocal folds need a thin layer of mucus to vibrate, but they can dry out in environments like a typical school building. And as your vocal cords dry out, it requires more effort to talk and project, exacerbating your voice problems.
• Tame the background. Background noise is not only harmful to educator voices, it interferes with students’ ability to hear and understand what’s being said. If your classroom has a loud ventilation system, ask about ways to make it quieter. If there’s hallway noise, keep your door closed. Learn about classroom acoustics and how to improve yours, and then advocate for a better teaching and learning environment.