As students go about their busy routines at school, the importance of a good seat is often overlooked. Each day during school hours alone, students spend over five hours sitting, and the type of chair one sits in can have substantial effects on their comfort, concentration, and productivity. The following five chairs found around GRHS have been ranked according to factors such as comfort, durability, additional features, and overall sitting experience for students, providing students with guidance on choosing the right chair for their classes.
#5: Whether one should even classify a stool as a chair is a debate nonetheless. However, as it has four legs, allows for one to sit down, and is found within the confinements of GRHS, it will be applicable for this purpose. Now its main difference is also one of its major drawbacks; it is backless. There is no way to lean back and relax your aching back in this chair without risking a heart attack at the minimum. Which brings me to my second point—its height. Not only does it make the fall that much more dangerous but even on a high table, like a lab table, 9 times out of 10 you will find yourself hunched over your paper more than usual, only worsening your back pain. Unfortunately, the mobility of the stool is the only beneficial characteristic, but it simply does not conceal the negative ones.
#4: The basic build of this chair is good. It is a fine shape, good height, and has that standard, clean look. While normal at first glance, though, these chairs have hidden pitfalls. The almost unnoticeable metal screws on the back of the chair are quiet crooks—they notoriously rip out your hair! If you are in class focusing on a difficult test, the last thing you want is to move suddenly and feel the painful pinches of the screws ripping out strands of your hair. The shiny, plastic material of the chairs is also a perfect breeding ground for friction and, unfortunately, static shocks. I can’t even explain how many times I’ve gone to scooch the chair in and made the mistake of touching the metal legs or back, and then felt a sudden zap that tingles through my skin. If you have short hair and/or don’t mind the occasional shock, the chair is fine and will serve its purpose, but why settle for fine?
#3: For a typical school chair, this one is as close to ergonomic as you can get. The middle of the backrest is raised to perfectly mold to the natural arch of a student’s back, resulting in an immensely comfortable chair with great back support. An unexpected benefit of these chairs is their back-cracking capabilities. There’s something about the shape of the back that makes it so easy to crack your back, and for students carrying around heavy backpacks all day, this is a welcome relief. Unlike chair #4, the dull-plastic material of these chairs not only ensures you won’t be sliding around while seated but also that you are not getting static shocks. Though this is a dependable and well-built chair, it still lacks cushioning on both the seat and the backrest so it can’t move any higher.
#2: The cushioned seat and backrest offer excellent comfort and support, making it ideal for extended periods of use. The padding not only adds to the comfort but also creates a more welcoming, home-like feel, inviting students to sit and focus. The curved backrest provides a feeling of security as the sides begin to wrap forward and it’s almost like the chair is hugging you. Compared to other harder, less forgiving seating options, this chair provides just the right balance between softness and structure, to reduce discomfort and improve functionality. If it weren’t for their tendency to pick up dirt and look a little grungy, these would potentially see a higher ranking.
#1: If you walk into class and see one of your peers sitting in this chair then you better believe they either turned in the most outstanding, masterful, first-rate work the teacher has ever seen or sold their soul to the devil. Sitting in this chair is one of the biggest privileges a student can be awarded in their academic journey. The rolling chair is the epitome of comfort for it not only has a padded seat, but also a reclinable back, adjustable height, and armrests. On top of that the flawlessly constructed breathable mesh back perfectly molds to the standard person’s back to provide a whole new level of comfort. The quality that makes this chair, though, is the 5 wheels that rest at the bottom. These wheels offer you unlimited freedom allowing you to rotate, scooch, and move to any spot you so desire with ease. The ultimate comfortability of this chair, its sleek and modern look, as well as its bonus ability to zoom around, easily ranks it as the highest chair.
In the end, each chair has its own charm, though some are clearly more suited to protect a student’s comfort and promote their ability to focus during a long school day. So next time you pick a seat in class, keep in mind how it will affect your productivity in class—after all, the right chair might be the key to performing at your best!
