The average middle school student carries the equivalent of about an extra one-fifth of body weight around in a backpack. This causes stress on the back and could potentially cause permanent back problems.
Vancouver Public Schools removed lockers years ago. Lockers had become a problem, with students secretly storing alcohol, drugs and other illegal items. That resulted in students having to carry all their materials and books in their backpacks. Students should not have to carry such a heavy load in backpacks. Most teachers do not know what it feels like.
One solution could be to put lockers back in our schools and check them weekly for illegal items.
This would solve the problem because students could put their materials for each class in their locker until they needed them.
