A school tries to alleviate students' burden with lockers

Writer： admin Time：2024-06-21 15:37:23 Browse：148℃

It is common to see students carrying heavy schoolbags on the way to school. "I am shocked that the school bag of my kid has a weight of nearly 4 kg!" one netizen reflected, "And she is only in the second grade of elementary school." 

During the semester, students from an elementary school in Wuhan replaced a bulky old-fashioned schoolbag with a light, little bag that contains only two books and one exercise book. In order to reduce the weight of children's schoolbags, the school places a row of lockers in each classroom so books and stationery do not need to bring home and can be placed in the lockers. The school does not assign written assignments to the first and second grade students anymore. Instead, they let the students send voice messages of their reading to the class WeChat group. Senior students also rarely have written assignments, but mainly reading and practicing. Therefore, the children do not need to bear with carrying all the textbooks every day, and the bags are naturally light.

Since the beginning of the new semester, teachers of all classes have taught their students to keep their lockers clean and tidy, requiring them to put books on the left and stationery on the right. Most students have formed this habit. After school, the class teacher will also lock the doors and windows of the classroom to avoid the loss of student items.

A reporter once randomly selected 30 students at the school gate to weigh their schoolbags. The results showed that most of the bags were more than 5 kg. According to online survey data, the average weight of primary school students is about 25.25 kilograms, while the average weight of schoolbags is 4.1 kilograms, which is 16.2% of the average student weight. A 5-kg bag is heavy for high school students and even adults, not to mention these pupils carrying such a heavy school bag every weekday. 

A report has shown that the schoolbag is considered as overweight when its weight exceeds 15% of the student's weight. There will be a risk of spine shrinking 6-8 mm if carrying the overweight bag for 20 minutes. Over time, it will lead to low back pain, scoliosis, causing the risk of slow body growth.

The small body has to withstand the heavy school bag. And when parents pick up the kids, they will take the school bag immediately. This scene often appears at the gate of each elementary school. As a result, bags with the function of “reducing the burden on the shoulder”, like trolley school bags have been sought after. "My kid's schoolbag is too heavy for her to carry back. Even if we are too tired to take it, so I bought her a bag with pull rod, which is a lot easier," said a parent.

Can trolley school bags really reduce the burden for kids? In fact, many schools do not advocate such a practice, because there will be many hidden dangers if students use trolley bags, like when the trolley school bag dragging on the ground, it is easy to trip other students and even trip oneself. And trolley school bags must be lifted when going up and down the stairs, such weight is much heavier than the backpack, which is very unsafe.

The slogan of "alleviating the burden for students" has been chanting for many years. But why are students' bags still heavy? The results of the reporter's investigation are quite intriguing - the "culprits" that make the schoolbags heavier with extra weight-bearing are actually parents, who are enthusiastically filling the school bags with textbooks and homework from off-campus training classes, tutorials, etc.

An elementary school student's parent believes that there are too few homework assignments at school, and children are too early to go home, he afraid that his kid may have nothing to do after school. So he gives the child extra homework.

There are also parents who send their children directly to the training classes, where a large number of teaching auxiliaries are distributed, and extra weight is added to the children's school bags. The mentality of parents that want to give their children the best thermos cups, books, stationery, etc. is understandable, but this also adds weight to the children.

Too much homework will bring concerns about affecting the child's physical and mental health, but if the school really reduces the burden on the children, parents are beginning to feel uneasy. Many parents are in a dilemma about whether the children's schoolbags should be heavier or lighter. The child's small body is in sharp contrast with the big school bag. If parents really want to reduce the burden on their children's schoolbags, they must trace the root and find the cause, so as to solve the problem.

We can do a lot to reduce the weight on student's shoulders. - First, the curriculum schedules should be clear and transparent so that students can clearly understand what books should be brought the next day. This can reduce the "invalid weight". Students can also be provided with some storages so that they can put colored pencils and books that don't require to bring home in school, without having to carry them in their bags. Second, when buying school supplies for children, parents need to follow the principle of simplicity and lightness. Don't just look at the appearance. Some beautiful bags have a net weight of about 0.5 kg. Also, many students' bags are filled with too many pens and beautiful notebooks, which increase the weight. Third, parents should help and teach children how to organize school bags, cultivate their self-care ability.