08/16/2010:
"love it"
08/6/2010:
"getting a backpack"
07/21/2010:
"umm well for me rolling bookbags are 4 youger children not for older kids
4th grade ane up should not have rooling backpacks and this is a good
article becuz last year i had a backpack that was killing me and really
having a overfull back pack is seruiously not cool at all. all u kids out
there make the right choice"
11/11/2009:
"rolling backpaks are so uncool
plus my school is 3 stories tall and their are many flights of stairs to
go up and down, not to mention all the kids around and the itsy bitsy
space you have to walk
also, all of my textbooks are online and FREE so it helps me carry less
and if I ever forget my textbook I can always access it online"
08/24/2009:
"This is a good article, but most kids wouldn't wear chest strap backpacks
in middle and high school, I think most kids would see it as 'uncool'. "
08/24/2009:
"Okay, this article is true and all, but i really hope that the parents and
the writer of this article understand how us kids feel about backpacks. If
a teen have a ugly backpack, people will laugh and now a days, at least
where i go to school. I highly doubt that a teen will actually wear the
chest strap, do u know how embrassing that will be for someone in the
teens department? no one uses backpacks anymore, they bring a backpack,
stuff it in their lockers and just carry the books they need for each
class and go back to their lockers to get their other books for the next
one, at least that what they do in our school...."
08/24/2009:
"i'm going to 9th grade this year...really its a very helpful tip..."
08/24/2009:
"I never new that your backpack should weigh 10-15% of your body weight
only!!!
If you are in highschool like i am, you will know how much just 2
textbooks can add to your backpack weight. My school doesnt have lockers
so like middle school, we need to carry everything. I found that just
bringing a couple pencils and pens instead of the whole box that it comes
in saves you space and weight along with having a binder with everything
in it or, having one of those sectioned notebooks that have dividers in
it, yes, that saves you space. My advice for kids that are reading this is
to not get side bags like the girls usually get , because they look cute &
fashionable ( purse-ish looking) because your shoulder will hurt SOOOO
much, you will regret it.
the good old fashioned BACK-pack, is the best choice. Of course buy one
with a lot of pockets. Also, kids might think that they can leave their
books inside a class room witha teacher and it wont get stolen. Sadly for
some odd reason, they do. More than you think. So dont leave your stuff
with a teacher because they have better things to do than watch your
stuff so they wont get stolen. Then you end up paying anyways. in
Conclusion, talk to your school. Dont be afraid to have your children talk
to your schools Assosiated Student Body (ASB) and find a plan on getting
lockers or some kind of cubby system. :) "
08/18/2009:
" I think this article is really helpful because I am going into middle
school and my new school doesn't have lockers except for gym class. That
means that I am going to have to carry all my supplies and textbooks
around all day every day and that is even worse now that I am switching
classes. Anyways, I am so glad thaat they have these kinds of articles so
parents and kids like me can finally know about these things and don't
have to be curious anymore."
08/18/2009:
"I'm a sophmore in high school and my shoulder is hurting and its only the
first week of school. I use a huge tote bag and I only have a couple of
thing in it. We are getting another huge textbook next week!! There really
is no solution. My locker is all the way downstairs and my classes are
upstairs. You can try storing books in a teachers class but most teachers
don't want the hassle. "
08/18/2009:
"This helped a lot! I'm going into 8th grade and i need a new backpack. My
bag from last year fell apart. My shoulders and back hurt so much i was
tempted to just bring two totes and switch them out between classes."
08/18/2009:
"I wish that my school would have books for school and books for home,it
would make it so much easier but my school would never do that.It is a
great idea.And if schools made more time for homework,we would carry even
less books"
08/18/2009:
"I'm all for hauling around less books in backpacks. However, so many
spelling mistakes in these posts actually support potential arguments for
adding even *more* learning materials, like an extra eighth-grade spelling
book."
08/11/2009:
"thats good"
08/11/2009:
"This is an important article. The biggest challenge is to get the students
to carry the bookbag correctly. As some comments have mentioned - a two
strap backpack on both shoulders is not 'cool'. The back strengthening
exercises are a great idea too - and not only due to backpacks. There are
a lot of things we do in life (even as youngsters) that strain our backs,
and prevention is 100 X better than treatment!
As for too much HW, I agree and disagree. I agree that there should not be
too much HW. However, sometimes it is not the amount of HW that is the
problem. Even if a math teacher only assigns 10 problems (a reasonable
amount) that still requires the student to carry the book home. Even if
the math teacher assigns a worksheet, a studious student will carry the
book home in case he / she needs help undesrtanding. Also, if the science
teacher assigns just 3 review questions or 10 pages of reading (very
reasonable amounts) that same student will now be carrying home another
text. Which of these teachers was unreasonable? Neither. So, you can't
simply blame the teachers for giving too much HW.
Online textbooks are becoming more and more available. However, I would be
hesitant to encourage a student to rely on using one. What if your
internet is down or your printer isn't working one evening? That would not
be a valid excuse for not finishing an assignment.
"
08/11/2009:
"Ireally think that that article wasted a few minutes of my time"
08/11/2009:
"I like this article. It has many facts that ore very believable and true.
I am going to 8th grade in middle school and need a new backpack so this
helps a lot. I used to wear my backpack on one shoulder and always came
home with tired shoulders!! And now I know why."
08/11/2009:
"This is very helpful."
08/11/2009:
"This year, my son is in the 8th grade. I found a backpack at Wal-Mart with
an airpack located in the lumbar (lower back) and a chest strap."
08/11/2009:
"ME AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT THINKS CDS TO TAKE HOME ARE BETTER THEN BOOKS
BECAUSE IT LESS OF A HASSEL FOR US"
08/11/2009:
"This has been real helpful for the most part"
08/11/2009:
"i dont agree. a backpack cant hurt people!!"
08/3/2009:
"I think they are right that children need the right kind of backpacks so
we should choose wisely!Children need comfy things, just because its
'cool' doesnt mean its comfy! I had a purse type of backpack once and it
hurt cause i didnt have anything on the other shoulder!!(especially on the
last day of school:( )"
08/3/2009:
"great ideas"
08/3/2009:
"Hello, I am a sophmore, and this is a great article but the suggestions
are kinda far fetched. Most highschools like ours rather focus on sports
no the cruiculum so we have no cds or new books for that matter. Also
teachers show no sympathy for those kids hauling books home. They tell us
we should pay attention and we could have got things done in class and we
do pay attention, but they just dont understand. Also the block squedual
thing is out of question. In middle school we had a block squedual that
everyone loved, but now in highschool we had a 6 period day and now we
have to go 7 periods a day 7 classes!!! Us kids are under to much stress
right now, and alot of my friends and I are suffering from back problems
as it is, but this article is very good."
07/21/2009:
"I think the idea of using CD ROMs are good. I already use 30Gb flash
drives, and they can hold a ton of reports and power point presentations.
I will probably use them for a couple years"
07/21/2009:
"mt daughter is about to start middle school in about 2 weeks and i've read
all ur little tips. how do i find out which backpack is better for her
books and one that fits well in her locker. She a wants a bag one like the
kind you find in old navy but its more like a beach bag for her books. she
says her friends had then last year but they didnt have lockers then and
their books will be heavier. she i go with my own instinks and tell her to
get a backback for her heavy books or a shoulder beach bag for her heavy
books.
PS: im not sure how big the lockers are because the school is new and no
one has gone in yet so
im not sure if the beach bag will even fit correcty. What do i do?"
09/4/2008:
"i used a jansport backpack its the best"
08/7/2008:
"When I was in college, I bought my text books. Then I cut the large books into sections so that I only had to carry a few chapters at a time. I used heavy paper to make covers for each section, and kept them in great condition. I road my bicycle about 10 miles to school and did not want the extra weight. We didn't have lockers on campus either, so storing th books wasn't an option. This only worked in classes where we worked through the book in order.
If you can buy the text book or just copy the chapters that you need, then you could do this too. It might be pricey and untraditional, but it worked out very well for me. I kept the books for years and continued to use them, so it wasn't as wasteful as it seems. I'm sure that another student would be interested in using a book in sections as well, so maybe it could be passed on."
08/6/2008:
"i agree with all of this information! i'm 15 and going into 10th grade. i already have pretty severe back and neck pain from my completely overloaded backpack. i'm carrying much more then 15% of my body weight(and i'm definitely not considered in the 'thin' category)! I went to both a physical therapist and my pediatrician to discuss my back pains and they both gave me the same advice: use a two strapped backpack and leave as much in your locker as possible. I have always used a two strapped backpack so that wasn't a problem at all, but when it came to the second piece of advice i was stuck. I was assigned a locker that was NOWHERE near any of my classes. even if i tried to take a roundabout route to my classes so i could pass my locker i wouldnt have enough time to stop and load/unload my books. as if this wasnt enough my teachers just kept loading on the books. i had one for spanish, one for gym(although i have no clue why...) one for english, one for algebra II, one for h!
istory, and TWO enormous textbooks for biology. yes, i did say not one but TWO for biology. This brought me to a grand total of SEVEN textbooks. i would usaully need to bring around 2-3 to and from school everday. and lets not forget a binder for 5 out of the 6 classes a day. and paper. and my pencil case. and folders and notebooks. and in the winter a heavy coat.. and on occasion large projects..needless to say my school took VERY LITTLE consideration for the health of the students. Sorry for the long message, but i feel pretty strongly about this topic and would like to share my story to let parents know of this issue. If something like this is happening to your child i would recommend calling the school and getting written note from your childs doctor stating a change necessary too protect the health of the students!..i wish it worked at my school..."
