By: Katie Nelson

Center Editor

Comfort in a classroom is key. Whether it is the kind of desks or the classroom’s temperature, the details matter. I’ve come to realize as I embark on my final year at LG the many key aspects in achieving perfect classroom comfort.

The first step necessary to achieving classroom comfort is the room temperature. Every degree makes a difference. The worst feeling is coming in from lunch or break and feeling like you’re walking into the Arctic tundra. Sitting down in a seat frozen by the harsh winds of the AC is incredibly painful. A ten-degree difference in temperature between the outside and inside the classroom is just too much, especially because I don’t adjust to temperatures well. Due to my horrible blood circulation, It takes only a bit of cold for my fingers to turn corpse white and go completely numb. Ask any of my close friends and they will tell you they have witnessed my fingers become ghosts up close. Because of this, I like my classrooms on the warmer side. El Gato advisor Paris DeSoto knows this, as I think I’ve complained nearly every day about the temperature in her classroom. I have to admit, though, when she has given in to my requests and raises it from 69 to 71; it really does make a difference. So thanks, Ms. DeSoto; I appreciate it. 

Then there are the classrooms that don’t have any AC at all. Now that’s just miserable. All I want to do is readjust in my seat, but I can’t because I’m glued to it with my sweat. Removing myself always takes patience and some pain tolerance.

Next, the types of desks: the ones where the seat and desk are connected by a metal rod right in your path to sitting down are the worst. I have to do a little Spider-Man maneuver every time I want to get into one of those things. While getting in and out is miserable, I have to admit that the connected desks do provide perfect support for back cracking, so it does gain some points for that. 

Lastly, classroom size is key. Just like the desk factor, teachers don’t have much control over this, either. The size disparity of classrooms at this school is shocking. That first day of school, you never know what you’re going to get when you walk into the classroom. Will it be small like my math classroom that used to exist across from the attendance office? I nicknamed that one the broom closet. Or is it like Ms. Austin’s where you walk through a mini hallway just to get to the main part of the spacious classroom with large windows? Or maybe, there are really two classrooms in one space, like in El Gato. It really is a gamble.

If all these things are ideal in a classroom, then it is on the right track to being a comfortable and somewhat tolerable space in which to learn. And if it’s not, well, there’s really nothing you can do about it, so take the small wins and dress classroom accordingly.