Heavy backpacks have plagued students for decades, but lately they’ve been weighing on them more than ever. With numerous textbooks, folders, notebooks, binders, and now Chromebooks, the weight quickly adds up.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, a backpack should not exceed 10% of a person’s body weight. Yet, 55% of American students carry backpacks that are heavier, which can lead to back pain and even emergency room visits.

With the introduction of Chromebooks this year, it seemed likely that this would be a problem of the past. With online textbooks, E-books and learning management systems like NEOLMS and Google Classroom, virtually all of a student’s work can be completed and turned in online.

The key word here is “can.” In far too many cases, students are finding that they have to carry their Chromebooks in addition to their textbooks, not instead of them.

Teachers aren’t intentionally overloading students, of course, but every assignment means bringing home another textbook, binder, notebook, or folder, until a student is lugging home half their locker each night.

This isn’t just a U. City problem. It’s a national epidemic. But at last, our school has the tools to solve it.

Naturally, all transitions take time, and the introduction of the Chromebooks is already a huge step forward for U. City. But it’s vital – for the environment as well as students’ backs — that U. City also takes the next step: transitioning to a truly paperless school. A good place to start is online textbooks, since heavy textbooks are the biggest contributor to the weight problem.
We have the technology. Now let’s use it – and take a weight off students’ shoulders.