To: Crocodile who wrote (47311 ) 2/22/2000 6:56:00 PM From: Ilaine Read Replies (2) | Respond to
Seminar rooms are good for that, I think, ones with a big table in the middle of the room and chairs all around. I think those feel much more egalitarian, especially if the teacher doesn't sit at the head of the table, but sits in the middle. I think it also helps if there is always a break halfway through (you can tell I went to night school), but the teacher doesn't leave, and answers questions that people are embarassed to ask in front of the whole class. Also after class, the same. Going to school when you're 40+ is a little nervous-making, you're not sure how to act. Speaking only for myself, when I take night classes at college, I usually feel miserable. I am stouter than a teenager, so I don't fit in student-style chairs, which makes me feel conspicuous and uncomfortable, and I am tired after work, and wishing I could take off my pantyhose and heels and have a little snack. Even kicking off my shoes would be nice. I suspect that student-style chairs are designed to maintain order by limiting movement.
