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Amy Bowllan

The Backpack Blues
October 10, 2007

Here's a link with helpful hints.

Backpack Safety Tips

I know this story is old.

But that is the shame of it. Educators and parents your voice is needed.

What is being done about heavy textbooks, hence heavy backpacks!?

Every morning it pains me to hear my daughter moan and complain about her heavy book bag. For the life of me, I can't remember my books being this heavy as a kid. In my day, there weren't many texts to go around. So the teachers made dittos of worksheets for us to take home. Remember those? They worked.

Why aren't all textbooks digitized? Certainly, there are some available online. But where is the celebration and promotion of them stating, "We're out of the 20th century when it comes to textbooks?

Tears and groans from a 7 1/2 year old, and a daily quote of, "My back is going to hurt forever!" may be dramatic, but it's true.

So now I carry her load with a moan. And ironically, the love of learning for my daughter has weighted down.

Why, (readers help me) in this GLORIOUS and REVOLUTIONARY age of online information are books getting heavier?

Btw, the photo looks like, but is NOT my daughter. It comes courtesy of Spineuniverse chiropractic center.

Posted by Amy Bowllan on October 10, 2007 | Comments (4)

October 17, 2007
In response to: The Backpack Blues
annie commented:

I used to worry about the heavy Japanese leather book bags. They're mostly vinyl now and are more lightweight. Textbooks are broken into stages/semesters and are paperback. I hope they're made out of recycled paper!!

October 18, 2007
In response to: The Backpack Blues
Amy Bowllan commented:

Great point Annie! I love the textbooks in stages idea.

August 18, 2008
In response to: The Backpack Blues
Emily commented:

I'm a highschooler, and I'll bet I carry around 25-30 pounds of books/binders in my backpack. I only weight 100lbs, so that's a very heavy load. I think textbooks should be kept at home, and a class set used in the classroom. I'd say in my bag every night there are 3 textbooks (at least), 3 binders, 2-3 library books, graphing calculator, 3 folders, and an adgenda. I ride the bus, and although the bus stops across the street from my house, it's hard to walk that far with a heavy backpack.

August 18, 2008
In response to: The Backpack Blues
Amy Bowllan commented:

Emily, I am sooooo sorry to hear this! It certainly needs further discussion and that, my dear, is my goal. Be well and take care of your back.