the students hear things you can't. Let me explain. We had our last class yesterday and students were finishing up their presentations. J and I were leading a discussion about what they had learned from the assignment when a bunch of the students started cringing and holding their ears. I looked around puzzled and they started laughing. J asked, 'what's that sound?' and they laughed even more. I asked, 'what sound?' and they kept laughing while holding their ears.
Well, it turns out that I'm old. You see, people created this high pitched sound to deter loitering by teenagers outside of stores. Those pesky (but smart!) teenagers turned it into a ringtone. The catch is that adults can't hear this high pitched but kids can. So the kids are now using it to get calls during class. Smart! Well, it turns out that I am officially over the hill since I didn't have a clue what was going on. Eventually, as we're laughing and the students are joking about how old I must be, the student turned the sound down (lowered the tone) and eventually I was able to hear it.
The npr article will let you listen to the tone (assuming you can!).
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4 comments:
Ooooo, I HATE those ringtones! I can hear them and it's absolutely horrid. A little like a drill going through your BRAIN.
Well, clearly you're 'younger' than me... I've never heard them before so I guess my students have been enjoying a luxury at my expense. Now I'll have to be on the lookout for flinching kids...
I guess I am too old.
kal
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