By Valerie Salazar Pena, Staff Writer
10/8/25
ROCKLAND- Rockland High School freshmen are not fans of the classroom desks and chairs.
Within the freshmen’s first weeks of high school, complaints have been popping up about the different, attached desks and chairs that they sit in during most classes.
Many freshmen report experiencing back problems, explaining that they have been hunching over while doing schoolwork.
Students in grade 9 explained that the inability to push their chairs back and forth to their preference is a leading cause of hunching over.
Rockland High School freshman Victoria Pumphrey said, “A lot of people say that their posture has gotten really bad.”
Aside from hunching over the desks, freshmen complain that the bulkiness of the desks is a problem as well.
Freshman Keira Small explained, “I almost fall over every single time I get out. I can’t walk in between the desks, so I have to either go to the front of the room or the back of the room, and they make my back hurt.”
Upperclassmen, on the other hand, have a more mixed opinion than the freshmen.
Junior Gaby Persichini said, “I don’t really notice they are at a somewhat awkward distance from the desk like the chairs are, but I don’t really notice myself hunching over.”
Upperclassmen have had these desks for longer than the current freshmen and have eventually grown accustomed to them.
On the other hand, Junior Christine Oteri said, “I’m 5’9, so I’m on the taller side. I like to sit with my legs crossed. I can’t really do that with these desks, but I do like the seat being attached.”
Some students said the classroom desk arrangement can contribute to problems.
Oteri shares, “I remember last year I was actually in Ms. Walsh’s room for L block…because how [Ms. Walsh’s] desks were grouped together, I got stuck in the middle, and I couldn’t escape when the bell rang.”
These connected desks have remained unchanged since the high school was refurbished in 2013.
Some students wish that the design could be considered more efficient for moving around in a classroom setting compared to a separate desk and chair.
Oteri explains, “I like not having to push in my chair at the end of the day or stack the chairs.”
Advantages such as these could explain why this design has stayed the same throughout high school.
Teachers do not sit in the same desks that students use, but adjust and deal with the desks daily.
English teacher, Ms. Amanda McDonough, said, “I don’t hear a lot of complaints within a class, but when I talk to kids outside of class, they will say how uncomfortable it is.”
Teachers also agree that the desks are relatively easy to move into preferred classroom arrangements.
Ms. McDonough also stated, “I think that because [the seats] are fixed, they don’t move, I think that there are certain kids that get a little more squirmy, they move around more.”
Many teachers believe that students tend to fidget and adjust their seat position out of exasperation with the seats.
Other educators do not use the same desk style as others, such as some science rooms that contain swivel chairs instead of regular desks, and are unable to comment on desk complaints.
Overall, freshmen seem to be most affected by this, as many value good posture and were able to maintain it during middle school with a seat that could be adjusted to their preference.