Why did the simple and practical Soviet desks, behind which it was so convenient to sit, be removed from schools?

How many school successes, failures and tricks the Soviet party has seen in its lifetime! She obediently demolished scrawled hearts and names, but still faithfully served entire generations of schoolboys of the USSR. Soviet high school paid great importance to children’s health, and the classic black and brown desk coped with this task with hurrah.



Many of us remember Erisman’s school desk. It was created in a special way so that the child kept his back straight and did not overstrain his vision. It is no coincidence that our grandparents were less likely to earn scoliosis at school, even carrying heavy backpacks. And the boys in glasses among graduates of 1950-1970-ies was much less. What else is known about the legendary invention of the last century, will tell “Site”.

Russian doctor Fyodor Erisman became a pioneer of school hygiene and the author of a unique design. At the beginning of the journey, he was puzzled by the question of why children develop eye diseases and how to slow down the process of vision loss. Soon Erisman made an important conclusion: schoolchildren become short-sighted due to the wrong landing at the study table.



Instagram Scientist thought through everything to the smallest detail. He determined that between the reader or the writer and his book or notebook must be at least 30-40 cm. Therefore, the tabletop should be placed slightly under the slope. Calculated the depth of the landing, the shape of the back of the chair. As a result, he presented a sample of the school desk, at which the child can read, write and draw at right angles, without slouching or falling apart on the seat.

The back of the bench was hard and held the lower back well, the legs reliably rested on the stand. It was a truly indestructible desk. Try to break the monolithic seat mount to the countertop! Simple, comfortable and reliable, student tables Erisman saw the light of day in 1870 and immediately took root in the elite schools of tsarist Russia, and soon in the USSR.



Initially, Erisman’s desks were made of oak, and a little later – from solid wood of conifers. In total, 4 sizes were made for different age categories of students. Usually the countertop was painted in black, green or blue, and the seat in brown. The standard color was very reminiscent of the school uniform of girls - a black apron under a brown dress.

The countertop had a double folding cover, and the student did not interfere with the neighbor when it was necessary to stand up and answer the teacher's question. Also, there was no need to move the chair because of the design of the product.



For all its merits, the ergonomic desk had one big drawback - its massiveness. After class, duty officers had to work hard to rearrange the furniture and wash the floors.

It should be noted that Erisman’s desk entered mass production along with the refinements of another genius – an ordinary rural teacher Pyotr Korotkov. It was he who made the design double and equipped the countertop with a folding cover. He also placed a special depression for pencils, feathers, pens and inkwells, placed a shelf for books and notebooks under the countertop and attached a side hook for the briefcase.



Why did the “Gold Standard” of the Soviet party cancel? Erisman-Korotkov school furniture served Soviet education for almost 150 years. In the 1950s, not only children sat at such desks, but even university students. However, in the early 1980s, the wooden monolith was replaced by regular tables and chairs. The new norms of SanPiN decreed that school furniture should be produced for the growth of students without taking into account other medical parameters. Soviet high school has changed.



Indeed, older students grew larger, grew larger and simply did not fit behind unsliding desks. They rested on the countertops with their knees and could not even move back. They were more distracted in class. True, in the film "Spring on Zarechnaya Street" adult aunts and uncle from evening school perfectly fit at such desks.

Modern samples of school furniture have become many times easier, but not without “jobs”. Now the student has to bend over the horizontal table, piling on the countertop. So he is not used to sitting straight from a young age, holding a writing hand without excessive tension, and his head under a correct and healthy slope.



Perhaps one day the good old and unsurpassed Erisman-Korotkov desk will return to the classroom. This is sometimes suggested by officials. Well, we'll see. This is definitely worth it, because it is such a simple and ingenious design that will allow a student to unlearn for 11 years and leave the school without myopia and scoliosis.

Do you remember your school desk? How comfortable was she? Let’s talk about it in the comments!