CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - Teachers fail to get vocal rest

Teachers fail to get vocal rest

Written by Marty Gasper

Friday, 16 November 2007

Twenty-eight parent-teacher conferences in two days turned Paula Schwartz's voice into a rasp - a common condition for America's teachers.

Educators on average talk twice as often as other professionals - typically at levels that can be heard throughout a roomful of children, according to a recent study of Denver-area teachers.

An estimated 40 percent of the country's 5 million teachers have voice problems and only 15 percent seek treatment, according to the National Center for Voice and Speech - a division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.