This educational infographic from Hertz Furniture sheds light on the importance of well-designed ergonomic school furniture. It highlights how poorly designed classroom furniture can impact children’s school performance. If you are a teacher or school administrator then it might be worth the effort to get ergonomic school furniture in your classrooms to help your children have their best chance possible to learn.
Ergonomics in the Classroom: Furniture Designed To Fit
Classroom Ergonomics – Furniture That FITS
- Over 83% of elementary school children sit at chair-desk combinations which are not suitable for their body height.
- Most school furniture is out of date and does not conform to minimum orthopedic-psychological requirements.
- Elementary school children spend approximately 9 hours sitting per day.
Traditional School Chair and Desk Designs
Conventional chairs have a rigid seat that inclines backwards and merges into a seating hollow causing:
- rounding of the back
- tense shoulder, neck, and back muscles
- constriction of the digestive organs
- spinal cord to be pressed to one side
- lack of blood circulation
Horizontal desk tops cause the child’s back to become round and their head to bend back as they are working.
Good Ergonomic Furniture
School Chair:
- Must be suitable for the child’s anthropometric data as well as their varying work postures
- Needs to allow for sitting with movement
School Desk:
- Fits desks sitting on the floor with casters
- Stand in lectern – a height adjustable working table
- Inclined top-approximately 16 degree inclination
Two suggested designs:
- Flexichair – changing seat inclination
- Rocking mechanism – swivel chair with height adjustment
This infographic is based on information found in the University of Manitoba’s report: Ergonomics for School Children: Schoolbags, Furniture, Computers, Visual and Auditory. Thank you to Hertz Furniture for sharing the information in the infographic!
Clearly the classroom furniture that exists in schools now is not working for children. It doesn’t allow them to move freely in the way that children actually move. Trying to force kids into desks that don’t allow free movement and force them into unnatural positions is causing more harm than good.
Switching to better ergonomic furniture for kids in the classroom should be a big priority, but unfortunately it is not in the budget for most schools. Furniture is so out-dated because schools don’t have the money to replace it when they can barely pay for their teachers and other necessities. We hope that proper ergonomic furniture does eventually get placed in the category of necessity. It’s so important that our children have a good environment where they are comfortable and able to learn!