2008 Woodie Awards
One Size Doesn't Fit All
Deon Thornton-Greenwood ; Guest Editorial
Issue date: 4/27/05 Section: Opinion
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Picture yourself trying to sit comfortably in a desk the size a 6th grade child would sit in. As you sit in this small desk, it's impossible to keep your legs under the desk without bumping your neighbor. Or, you try to twist and wiggle around in a vain attempt to find a comfortable way to sit. As you sit cramped in your desks, the professor lectures. You try to balance your textbook and your notebook. Hopefully, you won't have one or both crash to the floor. As you try to ignore the stabbing pains in your back, hip or thigh, you attempt to not only juggle your notebook and textbook, but you try to take adequate notes as well. With your attention being divided between how uncomfortable you are and the concentration needed for the desk-balancing act, you try to obtain the information needed for the class. But you feel denied the full learning experience due to the problems that rise from inadequately sized desks.
The desks at Idaho State University are too small. Kate Hamond, an adult size student at Idaho State University, stated, 'the desks are too small. When I sit in the small desks they hurt my back and hurt my hip." Ms. Hamond talked about how distracted she felt in class due to the smallness of the desks causing her pain. As I walked about campus randomly interviewing students, I was surprised that people of smaller stature also had difficulty with the small desks. Lilly James, who is a lovely slender-built woman, also felt very cramped in the small desks. She said it was very difficult to stay focused on the lecturer because in the back of her mind she worried about bumping the student in front of her. Ms. James stated, "It would be really nice to be able to stretch out my legs. The desks I have in some of my classes are the same size I had in grade school." As I spoke and interviewed these two women of drastically different sizes, I realized that being forced to sit in grade school sized desks, uncomfortable to full-figured women, was just as uncomfortable for slender adults, too. The size of the desks gave both women difficulties order to make my study more valid, I sought out different sized men on the campus.
The desks at Idaho State University are too small. Kate Hamond, an adult size student at Idaho State University, stated, 'the desks are too small. When I sit in the small desks they hurt my back and hurt my hip." Ms. Hamond talked about how distracted she felt in class due to the smallness of the desks causing her pain. As I walked about campus randomly interviewing students, I was surprised that people of smaller stature also had difficulty with the small desks. Lilly James, who is a lovely slender-built woman, also felt very cramped in the small desks. She said it was very difficult to stay focused on the lecturer because in the back of her mind she worried about bumping the student in front of her. Ms. James stated, "It would be really nice to be able to stretch out my legs. The desks I have in some of my classes are the same size I had in grade school." As I spoke and interviewed these two women of drastically different sizes, I realized that being forced to sit in grade school sized desks, uncomfortable to full-figured women, was just as uncomfortable for slender adults, too. The size of the desks gave both women difficulties order to make my study more valid, I sought out different sized men on the campus.