In my high school, someone became confused when ordering desks. they decided that no one could possibly be in high school over the height of maybe 5'5", and so the desks are sized accordingly. the desk and the chair are sometimes even attached with a bar of metal, making it impossible to adjust for legroom. the desk is too low, the chair is too high, to cllose, etc. At 6'2", I've actually become stuck in one of these.

I think that telescopic legs should be put on chairs and desks, so the each student can adjust them for their own specifications. these would be regulated by knobs, so that you don't unexpectedly telescope down at any point in class. by making the correct adjustments, you can tilt forward or backward without fear of breaking the chair (the cheap plastic chairs at school basically shatter when you tilt them). you could even make a telescopic joint between the chair and the desk, but only if you're foolish enough to think that joining the chair with the desk is a good idea. anyway, this would allow tall students and short students alike to sit in relative comfort, except that no one is ever really comfortable at school. and before anyone says anything about durability, my school already buys cheap chairs that get broken at the rate of three or four each month, mostly because of tilting.
-- schematics, Jul 14 2004

A bit like an adjustable office chair?
-- MikeOliver, Jul 14 2004


pretty much, except just a knob instead of pnuematics. less expensive. and the last time I checked they don't have it for desks, which is too bad.
-- schematics, Jul 14 2004


They still put attached desk/chair combos in schools? I thought they stopped doing that long ago. Anyways, when I was in high school we had adjustable chairs and desks, like you describe, but you needed a screwdriver to adjust them. A knob would be much more convenient.
Of course, this opens up the high school prank opportunity of loosening someone's knobs ever so slightly so that when the sit back down in the chair it shrinks to minimum height.
-- evilmathgenius, Jul 14 2004


I always thought High School 'pranks' involving 'knobs' were resricted to public school toffs!
-- MikeOliver, Jul 14 2004


I'd go into an ill-advised rant here about Ralph Klein not bothering to fund education enough, forcing us into joined deskchairs, but it'd probably be just obscure enough to piss other people off or just rouse ambivalence.
-- schematics, Jul 14 2004


H&S should be accommodating you in a properly scaled desk - email me.

nah forget it - my summer break from education problems finishes in 2 days...
-- po, Jul 14 2004



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