Schrägpult

03 – Info

A Schrägpult or leaning desk is actually an ‘old thing’ – even in the writing rooms of the Middle Ages, when books still had to be reproduced by hand and it was one of the main tasks of monasteries, hardly anyone wrote on the flat table; it would have been far too strenuous in the long run. The school desks of earlier generations were also usually slanted.

The picture shows an ecritoire from the Napoleonic period, which was used as a mobile writing station, e.g. during military campaigns. In addition to the possibility of storing the necessary utensils here, it also relieved the neck and back of the writer, who did not have to bend forward as far. We know from sensory physiology that the eye likes to be positioned at right angles to the original, probably because otherwise one has to ‘focus’ again for each new line to be read. Repeated experiments have shown that sitting upright when reading flat originals cannot be maintained for long.

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Now this position is not exactly ideal, especially for a growing organism. It’s bad enough that our adolescents can’t just whiz around and train their motor skills during the growing years, but have either the school desk or the chair at home for homework as their main biotope for most of the day. It is bad enough that the majority of adults have to earn their €€ sitting down, staring at a screen. The two hours of sport per week are already little for adults, and certainly too scarce for children and young people.

A lot of money is spent on suitable chairs – and this can certainly contribute to improving posture. It is also worth considering aids that make working in an upright position easier. We have compiled solutions for both problem areas here, whereby we refer directly to the respective specialist dealers.

You can do one without leaving the other, but especially with school children you should not fry too many extra sausages; that is also the reason why we usually do not recommend using the lectern in class. In the later years of school, you can take it with you for exams, where you quickly sit behind your notebook for a few hours; in ‘normal’ lessons, you go back and forth, chat with the neighbour, listen – hopefully – to the teacher and only look at the book or notebook for a few minutes. And especially in adolescence, the willingness to have a remedy put on the desk is rather underdeveloped 😉 If there is homework support, that’s something else, you should probably think about it. You can usually leave the desk in the room used for it; in our experience, if you write your name on the parts with a felt-tip pen, the risk of theft is low.

Far be it from us to discourage fathers with a talent for handicrafts from taking the initiative. Especially a part that is built together is of course always better and is also usually used with more enthusiasm. But this model, which is made with slide brakes and can be taken apart, also has your advantages, especially as it is very attractively priced. But remember, the best lectern is of little use if it sits in a corner – you have to make sure it is used regularly. In our experience, a good number of children and young people use it willingly and voluntarily when they notice that their homework and exams become a little easier; but this realisation does not always come at the first time, so you usually have to be a little persistent at the beginning.

Nothing stands in the way of painting/stickering to ‘personalise’ the good part; often it is then rather liked – one knows this from plaster casts and the like.

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