California Educator

May 2015

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On their feet in Oakland Ben Muchin is a standup guy. He explains that he usually has a "big energy rush" after arriving fresh from gym class, and needs to transition slowly into academia, which is best done by standing. Itai Bojdak-Yates likes having the "free- dom" to move around in class, so he also prefers standing. He sits in all his other classes and enjoys having a "break" from being in a chair all day long. Most of the students in Feeney's class prefer to stand. However, the standing desks can be lowered, so students have the option of sitting. Feeney describes herself as a "stander" because teachers are always standers. Because standers block the view of the sitters, they are usually in the back of the room. Some students like sitting on the countertops and do a combination of both. Standing desks with casters allow fluidity of motion, so students can easily move into groups or regroup, and turn their entire bodies around to collaborate with peers or see the teacher. Because students are differ- ent heights, sometimes they must agree on a "compromise height" for desks when they are working as a group, to see what their classmates are doing. "It helps students focus and pay attention," says Feeney, Oakland Education Association. "It's really interesting seeing students being flexible with their workspace. As long as they're fulfilling their part of the bargain and doing their work, I don't micromanage how they do it. And that's really appreciated, because students don't get a lot of choice in their universe. Usually they just hear someone tell them to sit all the time." At the beginning of the year Feeney had no furniture in her classroom. Most students were sitting on the floor. Then Assistant Principal Ashanti Branch men- tioned on a radio show that students have a hard time sitting still, which causes some of them to become disruptive. Someone was listening from Ergotron, a company that sells standing desks, and the company donated 28 to the school. Since Feeney was without furniture and excited to get some, they found a home in her classroom. "It was a fluke we got these," says Feeney. "And I love them because it's completely unreasonable to expect students to stay in their in seats all day from kindergarten to 12th grade. It's always bothered me as an educator that we're asking them to do that." The desks aren't cheap. They cost about $500 apiece, which is one of the reasons schools aren't buying them in bunches. "Schools don't get money for much more basic things we need, so I don't see this becoming wide- spread," says Feeney. "It's a little bit of a bummer. At best, it would be nice if students who need this kind of sup- port can get a standing desk. I know some of our special education teachers would like them for students." N o t e v e r y o n e p r e f e r s them. The class has several dedicated sitters. One of them is Olivia Petty, who tried standing in class, but didn't like it, saying it was tough to be on her feet for an entire hour. At first the desks were a bit of an adjustment for students, who played with them, making them go up and down. Some put them at maximum height and used them for a chin rest. "Now they've gotten used to them," says Feeney. "It's not novel anymore. It's just their desk." Having a ball in Tustin Sarina Zomorrodian likes sitting on a yoga ball more than a chair. It's soft and comfort- able, and bounces without making noise if she has a case of the wiggles. "It's much better for our core," she explains solemnly, sounding more like an ergonomic specialist than a third-grader. "It Students have their desks at varied heights during class. Learning 47 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 9 He found that if students choose to stand for most of the class time, they will burn 11 more calories per hour and about 300 more calories per week than other students. Overweight students burned 23 more calories per hour and 575 more per week than their seated peers. 11 CALORIES PER HOUR CALORIES PER HOUR 23 Students at standing desks burn more calories, reports Mark Benden, an associ- ate professor of Texas A&M who researches classroom ergonom- ics and childhood obesity. 300+ CALORIES PER WEEK 575+ CALORIES PER WEEK

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