According to some information, today’s students are growing up fast, and the average height of Such desks and chairs that fail to meet the physical growth needs of students are harmful to their health. According to a reader of our newspaper, desks in elementary schools are so small that students need to shrink their arms and even bodies, and lower their heads when they write, which will cause myopia. The reader further suggested that the relevant departments should scientifically design the size of desks and chairs for elementary and secondary schools, making them more suitable for the student’s physical growth needs.
Tall students can not stretch their legs under the desk
According to a survey by the Ministry of Education, between 1992 and 2001, the average height of male and female students in Chinese cities increased by 6.2cm and 4.8cm, while 7.5cm and 6.1cm in rural areas. In addition, the average of individual height difference of students also increased from 25cm to 37cm.
The average height of students in Shanghai’s elementary and secondary schools is higher than the national average level. According to our reporter, the height of the students not only varies greatly from grade to grade, but also in one class by more than 20cm. Nevertheless, most of the desks and chairs are of the same size, and slight size difference only appears in different grades.
A fifth-grade student, who is 159cm, told our reporter that he was using low desk and chair in the classroom, unable to stretch his legs under the desk by even curling up his legs, so he had to tilt his legs to the side. Such posture made him very uncomfortable after finishing his school work, so he often straighten himself up to avoid becoming a “hunchbacked grandfather”.
Another student wearing glasses said that he has grown higher over the years that he had to lie prone on his desk in a "bow" posture to do his homework, and his glasses often fell off.
Unmatched desks and chairs may cause myopia and humpback
It is learned that desks and chairs in some elementary and secondary schools are of the same size for a long term, and students have to sit in front of such desks and chairs for several hours continuously every day. This may seriously affect the students’ physical growth in the long term.
Desks that are too high will close the distance between students’ eyes and textbook, which can reduce their vision and lead to myopia, according to the analysis. Instead, if the height of the desks and chairs does not increase with the growth of the student's height, it will cause students’ fatigue for improper postures. Over time, it will form a bad sitting posture and affect student’s physical appearance, inevitably resulting in spinal curvature, deformation, hunchback, etc. Since teenagers are in a critical period of physical growth, diseases such as abnormal spinal curvature caused by incorrect sitting posture can also affect students' cardiopulmonary blood circulation, respiratory and digestive functions, and reduce their vital capacity. Some teachers also reported that unmatched desks and chairs can make students uncomfortable to sit, leading to inattentiveness and hyperactivity in class.
Experts appeal to avoiding desks and chairs that are in a same size
China has stipulated that desks and chairs should meet the physical needs of elementary and secondary school students, and all educational sectors of districts, counties, and elementary and secondary schools should actively change desks and chairs. Each school should not only focus on the uniform height of desks and chairs in the classroom, yet should customize desks and chairs based on the actual height of students to achieve "student-oriented development", and avoid desks and chairs that are in a same size".
