Remember George Carlin’s routine about his experience in Catholic school? “Sister Mary-Discipline and her steel ruler – ‘schwaak!!!’ across the knuckles – ‘He’s two years behind in his handwriting, Mrs. Carlin; we don’t know why.”
Ratchet forward 30 years or so. Now textbooks have gotten enormous and schools are so regimented that kids don’t have time to go to their lockers. And they’re required to carry a 3-ring binder for each class, with all their paperwork neatly organized (whether that system works for them or not). So they’re toting backpacks around that weigh 0.25 times their body weight. And apparently that cuts off blood flow in the arms, resulting in loss of fine-motor coordination.
Mind you, I’m all for trashing cursive handwriting until maybe offering it as an optional extracurricular calligraphy class in high school, because kids’ hands develop at different rates and not everybody can make those stupid little loops in the fourth grade. But for frakk’s sake, can’t we do something about textbooks that are both heavy and stupid? Make ‘em lighter, make ‘em smaller, print ‘em on non-glossy paper, and cut out the extraneous crap put in by various hand-wringers with something on their minds besides math, biology, and so forth? Then maybe they could carry their books to school without blood-starving their arms.
Below the fold: a cranky letter I wrote to the editor of the paper years ago, when the local school district was thinking about banning backpacks because kids might be carrying grenade launchers in them or something…
Dear Editor,
Your paper is quick to praise efforts to ban backpacks in schools: “Students survived for years without book bags, and we doubt it will affect their education to do it now.”
I have a 1946 algebra textbook that displaces 45 cubic inches and weighs one pound (about the size of a paperback.) Its 1995 counterpart displaces 98.55 cubic inches and weighs 3 lb, 4 oz. That’s over twice the volume and three times the weight.
My youngest son had a “Life Sciences” (biology) book last year that was too big to fit properly in his locker! He had to put the book in diagonally.
Some teachers at NCHS require kids to carry individual 3-ring binders, and dock their grades if the semester’s papers aren’t all present at inspection.
Kids carry all their books because there isn’t time between classes to get to their lockers. They are penalized for being even one minute late to class, though breaks are short and hallways crowded. The authorities’ solution is to say the kids shouldn’t socialize between classes.
I’m sure there are “good reasons” for all this, but the fact is: kids shoulder a huge burden, and the schools put it there.
Remember that school shootings, though sensationalized by the media, are rare. Making backpacks necessary and then banning them is comically clueless – especially if the school still allows gym bags (carried to the locker room) and purses.
School districts should demand smaller, lighter textbooks from publishers anyway. Those heavy books are actually hurting our kids’ backs.
Between – class time is valuable, too, for lots of reasons. Kids need that time. Not every class is essential, but a moment’s respite may be invaluable.
“Fortress” schools are a terrible civics lesson, pose only a minor obstacle to violence, and certainly alienate disaffected kids. The “answer” may be a more difficult equation: “Rules times relationship equals a constant.”
You missed your calling. A school district would have been lucky to have you as a Superintendent. Maybe enough people would have pulled their head out of the sand to hear what you had to say and supported you for a position in education on a state level.
Its called “accountability” and “CYA”. The current thinking is that no child can be left behind thus no child can be stupid. We are trying to do away with stupid. Someone is to blame if little Marvin is failing! The fact that his mom was on crack and his dad was a customer has nothing to do with his education. I do agree that all men and women are created equal, 10 seconds afterwards, all bets are off.
Now more in line with what you are saying. Small movie DVD players are cheap in fact probably cheaper than some current textbooks. With a movement to a dirt cheap throw away pc in the near future. Why are we not moving to DVD based text book? The military has moved almost all of its repair manuals to CD/DVD. The impact of course would be instant changes to bad information with the ability to quickly and cheaply update your text book. Now wonder who would fight something like that?
McGraw-Hill would fight it, I suppose. And so would Texas. But there is a project to do something like that and I think it’s a great idea.
(I can only imagine the weight savings in military manuals…)
I like the letter you sent. Hopefully the message got across.
So are you saying that the fault is not with school systems but mothers on crack? Wouldn’t that assume that all stupid children’s parents are on crack? Are you stating that schools are perfect and are never at fault, along with teachers, principles, etc…
As with most issues there is no one shoe size fits all solution. As DOF points out in the letter multiple parties are blame for the failing of our education. And to make matters worse none will admit it, and instead blame the other party involved.
Web
First of all in my not so humble opinion the federal government has no Constitutional authority when it comes to education. This is function left to the states and to the people. The education pyramid starts at home and if the base is broken everything built above is on a shaky foundation. South Carolina has a 4 year old kindergarten program and is thinking of including 3 year olds. How much can we keep backing this system up? Are we headed for a day when the kids are removed from the parents at birth and placed in an education systems because we have failed to hold parents accountable for the base education of their children?
If this is what you think that’s fine James, even though I disagree. But it still fails to answer my questions above.
I agree. But to say home life is the only problem in the education system is absurd. And even with good parents at home students can still slip through the cracks. I can give you direct examples if you’d like as I feel I slipped through the system in multiple ways. And I can guarantee you my Mom didn’t smoke crack.
I’d say it’s more of a system where all parts included matter and the removal of key systems will break down the entire system.
Well maybe we should create some economic incentives to not have kids. In the hopes of keeping unfit parents out of parenthood?
Precisely why North Carolina has a 4-year-old kindergarten; they recognize many households where kids are plunked in front of a TV with a bag of chips and no stimulation. Sad it has to come to that.
Home vs. school to me is like asking which end of a bridge is more important.
You have set me going… my child is in Kindergarten and having to write in a journal every day, memorize words and is already starting to carry stuff in a backpack. I can’t imagine how their backs and shoulders will handle the load when they get older. It has gone insane. I love your letter and will keep it to remind me I’m not the only one that thinks this stuf is crazy.