Education is important – you know that, we know that, everyone knows that. After leaving school, the rest of your life begins, and where you end up in that life is directly linked to your time spent in education and how you did. It has a greater effect on your life than pretty much anything else.
The quality of the education you receive has the potential to wildly vary depending on some surprisingly mundane factors. Some of the more obvious ones include the skills and competence of the teachers you find yourself with, how many disruptive children are in your class, and how well you personally pay attention.
There are, however, more contributing factors than you have probably realised. Some of the more unusual ones include the acoustics of the classroom (yes, really), as well as the lighting, and even the furniture you sit on and write on!
What’s Changed?
Just think back to all the changes to schools we’ve had in the last decade or two – teaching styles have been completely revamped, the curriculum itself has been overhauled, and the notorious canteen food has been upgraded courtesy of Mr Oliver. But has anything been done about the furniture?
The answer to that question is a no. School furniture is pretty much the same as it was back in the ‘50s, with the only major change being made in the construction materials: they’re now made from plastic instead of wood, as it’s cheaper.
Current education failure, if scaled up and made to adhere to work furniture regulations, would fail on a number of different fronts – it’s high time we changed this.
How Can Furniture Affect Performance?
Classroom furniture can affect a child’s educational performance in a number of different manners. This makes it of crucial importance that we ensure that we give the very best furniture to our children – we don’t want their education to suffer!
The modern methods of teaching incorporate numerous different styles, so we need furniture that can adapt to each of these. Schools can no longer afford to build separate rooms for science or for ICT, so we have to ensure that the furniture we use can do it all.
Children should have furniture which is both ergonomic and comfortable – take a look at Innova Design for some examples – as this will allow them to work to their full potential.
Why Should Furniture Be Replaced?
We’re not suggesting all schools should go and replace every last bit of furniture on a whim. That’s expensive. Instead, if a school is already undergoing a redesign or renovation, that’s when changing the furnishings should be taken into serious consideration.
If the furniture in the class doesn’t fit the kids well, it can cause back and neck pain that could eventually end up doing permanent damage. A lack of comfort also makes it hard to concentrate, thus directly having a negative impact on education. If we want the younger generation to do well, we need to ensure that we give them the best furniture.
