Unseated
How chairing young people is a barrier to student achievement.
While researchers have reconsidered almost every aspect of public education, from pedagogy to school governance to the architectural design of school buildings, we have had a long-living achievement killer literally sitting in classrooms since public schooling began.
The longstanding addiction to seating children, and to the chairs we seat them in, has gone curiously unchallenged even as there has never been any research to support the connection between chairing students and their student achievement. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that chairing young people is responsible for negative effects such as declining physical health and a host of disruptions to teaching and learning, including fidgeting, lethargy, and mental wandering.
Did You Know?
Recent medical studies show that students who sit for longer than 60 minutes at a time without getting up and walking can shorten their lives due to increased risk of serious diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and more. And yet, 84% of our nation’s public school children sit for longer periods of time than recommended.
“This report is absolutely critical. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
Chris Stewart
Brightbeam Chief Executive Officer