About 5 years ago I was working on an ad campaign focused around how middle school children outside of Tucson, AZ use technology. The school happened to be in a fairly economically depressed area and there was fear of guns, gangs, drugs and everything else that could potentially be dangerous in a school. One of the ways that the administration mitigated the risk was to eliminate lockers. It sounds bizarre I know. I think back to when I was a kid and the pictures I always had taped to the inside of my locker. It was a crazy collage of friends, boyfriends, pets, oh yeah, and storage for the books I used to schlep between classes. Not these kids.
These kids wore big backpacks and carried them from class to class. No resting place, no storage place for books or anything else. Made me feel a bit sad and nostalgic but I get it. What I didn’t get was how they could carry all that weight without really damaging some still growing bodies. I was reading a short clip in the New York Times last Sunday that said half a dozen states are considering weight limits on text books for public elementary and high schools. California is at the forefront requiring publisher to offer more lightweight options. And they should, it really does pose a health risk and children can be injured. Its now becoming part of a “student bill of rights” and legislation is being introduced. Pretty cool, huh?
World’s Heaviest Textbook? “Art History” by Marilyn Stokstad at 10.95 lbs.
Posted on May 8th, 2006 by Sam
Filed under: Uncategorized
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