Yeah, kids don't really wear coats even when they should. Mine is convi ced a hoodie is a coat. Even when it is literally freezing outside. If it's below freezing she would sometimes wear two hoodies. Probably fewer than 10 days I got her to wear a coat.
Can I ask why so many middle schools don't allow kids to carry backpacks from class to class?
guns?
i guess also drugs is what they'll say, but mostly bc of guns.
Our school also said it was due to overcrowded hallways, and the backpacks just adding more "bulk" to the hallways. They also said that the classrooms didn't have enough space to accommodate all of the large backpacks on the floor next to the desks. I don't know if any of this is the real reason, since they're allowing backpacks again, but this is what they said last year.
Can I ask why so many middle schools don't allow kids to carry backpacks from class to class?
I was told it was a tripping hazard with kids leaving them on the floor. I guess there isn’t space to hang it on the back of the chair - the rooms are small so they can’t space out the desks enough to allow room for a huge backpack on the back of each chair.
Can I ask why so many middle schools don't allow kids to carry backpacks from class to class?
Our school cites "safety and space" as the reasons. The space part of the arguments is somewhat amusing because the building was built for around 800 students and we are down below 500 now. There has been escalating violence at the school in recent years, with rumor of gang activity, so I assume guns are truly the main reason. A student brought a gun to DD's elementary school last year and the policy was enacted shortly after that incident.
Post by sandandsea on Jun 17, 2024 13:30:01 GMT -5
Yep. Dss backpack probably weighs 30 pounds as he also has to carry everything back and forth daily. They don’t have lockers or block schedules so the backpack is stuffed. We drop him off and he rarely walks home (over a mile walk) so he’s been okay to just deal with it. Some kids have roller bags but the school doesn’t like them because it’s a tripping hazard between classes when the walkways are packed and the kids think they’re incredibly uncool.
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Jun 17, 2024 14:02:26 GMT -5
Mine didn't use lockers. She started middle school during the pandemic and when school resumed in-person a year later, they didn't even assign lockers.
One thing way they kept backpacks light was by having kids keep textbooks AT school in the classroom. The bulk of the work was done via Google Classroom on their Chromebook.
Here kids tend to use their lockers in middle school on arrival, at lunch and end-of-day.
At the high school, nobody uses their hall locker. Nobody wears a coat. Ever. Student athletes might use their gym lockers and music kids might use instrument storage, but most haul everything all day.
This scenario, exactly. My middle schooler is not allowed to bring his backpack into lunch so it goes into his locker then and he gets it after lunch. My high schooler does not use a locker, does not wear a coat, and carries everything with her aside from her instrument which is stored in the instrument room.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
my MS son had a locker but never opened it and quickly forgot the combo... it was not in a convenient location anyways- it only wouldve been good for before/after school so he would've had to carry everything all day. I think his backpack weighed as much as him and it only had a chrombebook, binder, a few notebooks and his lunch and a small waterbottle. no actual books. Also the coats- he wore it all day everyday- although it doesnt get super cold here thats just how it is. I did try to get him into a vest but i guess he didnt like that as much
Our middle school has lockers but they aren't in use anymore. Only kids with instruments can use a locker.
My son goes to a brand new high school. They don't have lockers at all, like in the school. I guess because they almost exclusively use their computers, lockers are becoming very old school.
Can I ask why so many middle schools don't allow kids to carry backpacks from class to class?
Ours is room. The halls are too crowded. Kids can bring case its (like a trapper keeper) or tote bags so I don't think its drugs or weapons. Since kids can put those in in the case it or tote bag. Also they can bring backpacks into the school they just need to go into lockers.
My kids go to a K-8 school and get lockers from 5th - 8th. I have heard from friends that their 8th grader (HS in their town) has a locker but due to the location they don't use it because there is not enough time between classes.
Is it still not cool to use those rolling bags? That would be a great solution.
Post by fancynewbeesly on Jun 18, 2024 10:04:59 GMT -5
My 7th grader did use her locker--yesterday was locker clean out day. However even with using her locker for binders/notebooks and such---her book bag STILL was massively heavy. (some of which was not the schools fault--but her own doing: ie. The Stanley Cup, her special pencil case, crochet supplies for her art class or her special markers, gym clothes for gym days, etc)
Our middle school is the opposite, no backpacks in class and they have lockers. The last week of school boy they were not allowed to bring backpacks into school at all
My middle schooler kind of has a locker but it’s a weird system of two different lockers on different floors so they still carry everything, plus nothing is left overnight.
My high schooler has no locker. They are available but you need to request one. And apparently us very uncool to have one?? So no one uses them.
Where I teach and where my son goes use lockers. Many kids use a Case-It binder to carry everything in one. My son has one and it's a lifesaver bc otherwise he'd DEF forget crap in his locker.
There are lockers here, but they're not as critical as they used to be. The classes that use textbooks keep the books in the classroom. Most teachers keep extra pencils etc on hand. I see some kids using them, I don't know what for.
The band & orchestra classrooms have space for kids to store their instruments.
If you have kids at two different schools in different places and with different start/end times, how do you manage your pickup and dropoff?
We were lucky that we qualified for the bus to middle school (although more often than not DS opted to walk home with friends). So one kid would take the bus to/from school while we picked the other up from elementary or high school. On the occasion that we had to juggle this we'd just have to drop one early and/or pick them up late. Or we'd coordinate with friends who lived nearby and have kids the same age.
Post by lavenderblue on Jun 19, 2024 15:48:59 GMT -5
My kids schools (Middle and High) they've had lockers, but there really isn't enough time between class to use them, so they've just always carried what they needed in a backpack. Our school does Chromebooks and doesn't give out textbooks, so they don't have a ton that they need to carry around. The lockers come in handy if you have a kid involved in an after school activity because they can put what ever they need in their locker first thing in the morning and not have to carry it around all day. My kids like to buy lunch, so I'm no help there.
If you have kids at two different schools in different places and with different start/end times, how do you manage your pickup and dropoff?
My middle school rides her bike home. My younger one takes the bus. We work, so my older daughter picks up my younger one at the bus stop and watches her until someone gets home.
Post by jeaniebueller on Jun 19, 2024 18:04:24 GMT -5
My kids doing almost all of their work on a Chromebook, I don’t even think they have textbooks. Which I absolutely hate, but that’s another story. So all he really has to carry is his Chromebook and notebooks.