Chairs. The crux of the classroom and arguably one of the most used pieces of furniture in the entire school (let alone the world). MICDS, in its pursuit to adapt to students, has provided three different types of chairs with varying levels of comfort. 

The chairs of MICDS provide a different feeling for students across campus. STEM with new wooden chairs and specified fittings for long periods, Olson, in its rigidness and plastic-metal build, and May Hall with roller chairs and built-in tables, aim to do one thing: keep students engaged.

“You don’t want them so comfortable that they’re falling asleep,” Tex Tourais, English Teacher, said, when asked about chairs’ effects of learning. And as unpopular as his response is, he’s right. 

Students falling asleep in class is an issue teachers grapple with and try to solve. Sleeping in class remains a downside of using more comfortable chairs.

Moreover, the chairs provide both flexibility and freedom, but could detract from learning in achieving both. So, where is the balance met? 

“Having to provide options for various ways in which people learn” is an important factor, says Chris Rappleye, English Teacher. “Being able to move into smaller groups or large groups, areas where you want everybody to see each other…etc, it’s all a part of the consideration.”  

Rappleye said that the chairs have to strike some “balance [of] what’s gonna provide maximum movement potential…measured against comfort, [and] the issue of ‘Is this a distractible thing?’” 

Travis Menghini, Computer Science Teacher, noted students’ distraction as well. “No,” said Menghini bluntly when asked about changing the chairs. “Having something with wheels is very distracting because kids will wheel around and race each other…you can’t do that with a regular wooden chair.”

This all puts teachers at a crossroad of comfortability and learning, which is more valuable?

It is a never ending debate that seemingly can’t be solved for teachers. And either way, one thing remains: stools suck.