Student Backpack Weight

Every year, more and more students are requesting notes from their doctors to get an extra set of books to prevent back aches and shoulder pains. Students should receive an extra set of books for the classroom so they can be relieved of back and shoulder pains.

Students have to carry too many books every day to and from school. Three or four books every day can cause a lot of pain in your lower back, upper back, and shoulders. The textbooks that teachers give the students range from 4-6 pounds. That's about a 20 pound backpack just from books. Teachers also require that students bring notebooks, binders, and some kind of pencil box to carry pens, highlighters, and pencils. My mom always asks me how many books I am bringing to school every day. She worries about my back because she knows that if students don't get an extra set of books for the classroom, it will cause back pain not only now, but when we get older too.

Students also need an extra set of books for the classroom so that every student can come prepared to class. Some students might forget a book at home that they may have needed that day. If every student was given an extra set of books, then no student would come to class unprepared. Some students may also be in a situation where their parents are divorced they split their time between their parents. The student may spend one week at one parent's house and the next week at the others. They may forget one of their books at one of their parent's house. They might not be able to get it back for a whole week. This would not be a problem if students had an extra set of books for the classroom.

The EGUSD, Elk Grove Unified School District, or any other school district in the United States may say that the school budget is too low to buy an extra set of books for every student in the school, but schools can hold more fundraisers. Car washes, magazine selling, a cookie dough fundraiser, or they could even get a school sponsor. These kind of sponsors could help pay for the extra books. Another option to raise money would be by getting donations from teachers, students, parents, the school board, or other anonymous donors. A girl only in the sixth grade started to have continuous back pain. Her name was Shruti Iyler. She blamed the backpack she brought to school every day that continuously had numerous books in it. "She interviewed other students in her intermediate school and discovered that more than of them also had back and shoulder pains that they attributed to their backpacks, sports bags, musical instruments, and other "carry on" items." (Ebscohost) This is just one piece of evidence that proves many students are suffering from back and shoulder pains.

As a student, I also suffer from mild back and shoulder pains from carrying three or even four books around every day to school. Just consider that students should be given an extra set of books for school. If you have or are a student who experiences back and shoulder pains, you can e-mail your school district, write a persuasive letter to your school district, or notify the principal or a teacher.

Guyer, Ruth Levy. "Backpack=Back Pain." http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=3932199&site=ehost-live. Ebscohost. 12 Feb 2007.