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As I walked into my classrooms after Thanksgiving break, I couldn’t help but notice that the traditional wooden desks had been replaced with new seating.
Each desk is now a small table attached to a plastic chair on wheels. While I attempted to get to my seat, the desks were so tightly packed that I was forced to squirm through these moving obstacles that blocked every walkway. It felt like a puzzle trying to maneuver around the classroom.
“They’re like a maze when trying to get through the classroom,” Maddy Bowles (’26) said.
The new addition of wheels attached to the seats allows a large range of movement. Before students arrive at class, teachers assemble the desks into the seating arrangement they prefer, but soon after students finish learning, the chairs are bound to move around and become crowded.
“Unfortunately as a teacher, everything falls on us when it comes to our classroom management. I am finding myself having to spend probably double the amount of time with desk wrangling and maintenance than I ever had before. It’s every single period, every single day,” IB English teacher Eric Smithers said.
Teachers already have enough things on their To-Do lists every day, and resetting the chairs every single class period shouldn’t be added to the list. The new “improvement” has added nothing but bother to the classroom.
When I sat down to test the new upgraded seats, I was extremely frustrated to see the comfortably large wooden tabletop had been replaced by a flimsy plastic tabletop, which happens to be considerably smaller. After taking out my learning supplies, my binder could barely fit on the table.
“The tabletops aren’t really big enough for your binder, water bottle, pencil pouch and room to work,” Paige Halverson (’26) said.
Now students must cram all their supplies on a very small flimsy desk. As someone who loves to be organized, this will greatly affect the notes I take in class. My “clean” workspace which is now overcrowded with supplies will lead to a cluttered and unfocused mind in class.
Speaking of unfocused, the chairs will definitely encourage a decline of focus by students.
“The chairs make me feel very unprofessional because they spin around. Unlike the ordinary wooden desk where I have to stay facing towards the front and continue to be focused in class,” Bowles said.
I feel that the newly added movement to the chairs has definitely initiated disturbances in the classroom. Since the desks are now prone to spinning and wheeling away, students can be tempted to mess around in class.
“Especially for already unfocused students, these new chairs can make students want to spin around or even push other students,” Bowles said.
Classrooms were more focused and organized when using the traditional wooden desks. I believe added distractions should not be considered improvements to the classroom.
