What's the deal with Chairs?
Paul Kozieradzki
Chairs! I know there are students out there who have been terrorized by dangerous chairs. These chairs attack during high-pressure situations such as tests, quizzes, and exams. They attach themselves to your body, and hold it ransom for several hours of the school day. Their demands are that you conform to their torturously poor design.
The basic designs for student chairs at Jarvis are the combo desk, the plastic chair, and the backless stool. Most familiar is the desk chair combo unit used by the English, History, and Math departments. The small backless stools still remain in the biology and art classrooms. Both these designs have the potential to harm your body in ways you can't begin to imagine.
"The portion that supports your back is located near my lower back…some chairs are also small in relation to the length of my legs…I remember there were a couple of chairs that were too small and they caused a sore on my lower back," said Justin Khan a Grade 12 student who is six foot four and a half inches. These combo desk and chairs were not designed to accommodate a student of Justin's size, and although the impact is not life threatening, it still affected his comfort in the classroom.
"I'm just a big man living in a short world," said Staford Campbell, a six foot two inch student in Grade 12, who sympathizes with Justin's problem and can actually feel his pain.
The problem with these chairs is that they are essentially 'one-size fits all' approach to seating. This militaristic approach does not belong in a multicultural school such as Jarvis. Jarvis students come in a variety of body types, and when these young and developing bodies are forced to conform to 'ideally suited chairs' the damage to their bodies may affect their future experiences with chairs. These chairs could be a contributing cause in the increase in back problems among young adults. This one-size-fits-all theory is also promoting the negative view that the human body should grow a certain way, or the consequences will be pain. Chairs are an alien object to our bodies, and therefore should be as comfortable and natural as possible.
"Some of them are broken, have cracks, are hard, squeak, or the legs are uneven…sitting in them just hurts," said Darryl Spencer, a Grade 12 student with lower back problems. The lack of comfortable chairs sends Darryl on an awkward search for an adequate chair every time he enters a classroom.
When these seats were designed, there was no knowledge of ergonomics, which is why they are too old for this scientific age. It is the year 2001, and perhaps we should catch up in terms of chair design. The chairs have not aged well, as evident from the dried pieces of gum under the desk, the cracks, and there are a few desks that have been bent back into a reclining position by students who were not satisfied with the chairs.
As bad as the desk chair combo is, the small stool is even worse. It should be a criminal offence to have these backless stools in our art and biology classrooms. They provide no back support and are too small to accommodate the average size buttocks.
"It's tradition… they take up less space…it's not an issue of safety," said Mr. Whitney, a biology teacher with stools in his classroom. The fact that students and teachers can consider uncomfortable stools a tradition is appalling. It amazes me that the human body can become desensitized to such horrors.
Frustration over the quality of chairs has driven some students to activism. "I'm against chairs all together… my solution is levitation," said Casey Johnson an OAC student. This anarchist approach is a definite sign that there is a problem according to students.
Teachers have different theories depending on the grade level and the subject they teach. "I don't have a problem with stools. Uncomfortable chairs give you the incentive to move around, stand up, and draw," said Ms. Moran, Acting Head of Art. She also added that the class never sees her sitting in her chair. She is always walking around helping students.
There are varying degrees of disaffection for chairs. The teacher believes that students should avoid sitting in the chairs and instead move around. The student takes this to the highest degree and believes levitation to be the answer.
"Many fast food restaurants want uncomfortable chairs because they want a quick turnover," said Ms. Beaudry, a history teacher who compares this to student chairs. Finally the question of why students are always watching the clock that will strike the end of the period can be answered. This could explain why several students feel that they have been forced into skipping school. If you went to a restaurant and the chairs were uncomfortable would you come back?
The theory behind uncomfortable chairs seems to be that they prevent students from becoming too comfortable or falling asleep. This punishes the backs of thousands of students to stop a few students who will probably fall asleep anyway.
The government would be wise to make the classroom environment more inviting. This can be done by examining places where people enjoy hanging out for long periods of time such as bookstores. Chapters and Indigo are two of the most popular chains of bookstores in Toronto. These places try to give their customers a comfortable environment in which they feel they can take as much time as they need. In these stores there are plush sofas and comfortable chairs. I have never seen anyone sleeping in them. "We have the chairs so people can stay and be comfortable," says Ira Tam store manager of fiction zone at Chapters on Bloor Street. Although their approach does not exactly match that of a school, a lot can still be learned from their successful business. People enjoy being in these places, and perhaps some day students can enjoy the classroom environment.
I have a dream that one-day students will sit in ergonomically correct chairs that can properly support their bodies. These chairs will be free at last of the militaristic approach, and will be varying in heights and width to accommodate the tallest of students and the largest of buttocks. In my dream chairs are used as a vehicle to take students through the journey of education. But nonetheless I must accept the reality of lack of funds and lack of concern from the Oppressor Man.
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