"Behind such a desk, a man resembles an invalid in an orthopaedic brace. He cannot stand up normally to shake hands, but must first disengage himself delicately from his chair and cautiously rise, attending more to the desk than the visitor, as it takes only a nudge for this rickety, spindly-legged contraption to collapse with a roar on to the parquet. The seriousness of a whole office disintegrates into sniggering when instead of an official enthroned behind a monumental sculptured desk it sees a crouching, cramped wretch imprisoned in a miniature cut-rate snare. I cannot suffer a desk!"
Ryszard Kapuscinski, The Soccer War, 1986, pp. 145-146
1 comment:
This is why I never, ever sit at my desk while students are in the room. It's a petty, artificial separation that allows kids to think that I'm a functionary, not a living, breathing part of the classroom. It's also why I always allow students, if they sincerely prefer, to sit on the floor or stand.
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