NEWS: California Limits Backpack Weight

CULTURE: California Limits Backpack Weight

California has placed a maximum weight limit on backpacks because of the stress on young students body frames. In some cases, a student can carry up to 17% of their body weight, chiropractors recommend no more than 10%. In light of recent drug and violence issues, schools have also removed lockers, thus making students carry their backpacks all day.
It is difficult to standardize textbook weight as "a 200-lbs football player is able to carry more than a 90-lbs gymnast". Publishers are considering alternatives to large textbooks.
The standard weight will go into effect this fall.

Very interesting. I had it lucky in high school because my school was brand new and had class sets of all the textbooks, meaning that I never had to lug around books, just a binder. I miss NHS...

I'm moving to Cali. Like now. That's so not fair.

doesnt apply to art students unfortunately , I carry a drawing pad , a clay sculpture head , a toolbox with all the crap in it + my backpack with a lot of sketchbooks and random stuff in it.


i should sue the school

my back is so messed up from lugging around books through my school years, now I only take one or two classes that I know will need books at a time, and just leave them in my car when the class is over.

however, anyone wonder if

lighter backpacks=lighter books=poorer quality books with less in them=poorer education?

just a thought.

I remember constantly saying in high school that backpack weight would screw our backs up, and that school districts should do more to help reduce the amount/load of books we had to carry.

Glad to see steps taken!

What a bunch of friggen whinners. Suck it up you pussies. I carry more wieght in my brief case to work then kids carry to school but I don't expect the government to rescue me from my mean evil bosses. What a bunch of sad little whinners.

I remember the girl who had one of those. You knew when she was up and about because you could here her a rollin' down the hall.

Of course my school was incredibly small.

Kids' skeletons are still pliable because they are still growing, and can be permanently injured by the weight of these backpacks. think of how many adults are plagued by back pain: MILLIONS. how much of this resulted from the weight of their backpacks in school? have a little compassion, pal.

Overpacked backpacks are, im pretty sure, responsible for my scoliosis. Christ that history book was freakin huge.

I know how you feel. Carrying art supplies + hugantic art history book + other regular school supplies = teh suck...especially if you have to ride a train for an hour to and from school.

Blarg.

Oh, this also reminds me of when they made all kids in school middle school and lower use "clear" backpacks cuz they didn't want them bringing weapons and stuff to school. I missed that by one year thank god. Those clear backpacks were so shitty that they fell apart in a few months.


[Edited on May 14, 2004 12:54AM]

[Edited on May 14, 2004 12:54AM]

I almost had to forefeight my career as a dancer because of back problems that developed as a kid carrying a bag that was too heavy for me. Its good that someone is finally realizing that this is something that can lead to real problems not only now but when these kids grow up.

I still remember my middle school locker number:

36-2-36
fuck, wait. *spins it again*
36-2-34
*diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*
shit!
*runs down the empty hall in his airwalks*

Books in DVD form...Like PDFs. That's the way to go.

Like something actually worth reading, as opposed to an nth revision piece of junk? I think this problem would be solved if schools made serious re-evaluations of what sort of content they want students to get, not by just limiting backpack weights. I know that I rarely, if ever, read even half of any of my large textbooks. Schools should really think about stopping their uncritical funding of the textbook industry.

I agree, some kind of digital form of media would be a vast upgrade to the standard hard copies. My brain works better when i am reading from a computer vs. a book...so maybe it would work better for some.

[Edited on May 14, 2004 8:49AM]

I actually say 'way to go' on this one. My best friend in highschool did have back problems as a result from all the books she had to carry. Plus, removing lockers? That's ridiculous.

DVD/PDF is a good idea but not very practical, i.e. computer access. For example, my Californian school had at least a thousand more students than it could actually hold -- you can only imagine how long the wait was for a computer in the library. Don't forget, some simply can't afford one.

removing lockers is stupid. But I would have appreciated this law while in university. CArrying notebooks and texts for 5 classes on some days made me want to die. And it made me sweat. GROSS.

put all the text books on Cd, i dont think i know of anyone today that doesnt have a laptop

I've got a bad back and it affects my life on a daily basis. I think this is a good idea because no one should have to experience pain regularly if they don't have to.

Wheeled backpacks are used frequently in my area and once my son gets older (he's in the 1st grade now) I'll get him one!

I weighed my backpack one year in high school... I carried it every single day, all day long. It weighed 55 pounds.

You don't know of *anyone* that doesn't have a laptop? Hell, I know lot's of people who don't even have computers, let alone laptops.