Backpack Attack
Backpack Attack
By: Leah Hodder-Romano
By sixth grade, our books were getting bigger, our backpacks were getting heavier,
and our growing bodies couldn't keep up. So, I decided to get one of those
rolling backpacks to save myself from the pain and sore muscles. It was really good for my
back, but it was also really good for attracting negative attention. I was getting teased
and harassed at school about it. Now keep in mind that this was middle school,
so naturally kids make fun of each other for the most ridiculous things. But the constant
reminder that I was small and now the constant reminder that I was presumably weaker than
everyone else made the need for normalcy outweigh the need for comfort. By the time I
moved to Boothbay in seventh grade, I opted for a regular backpack. Now, a junior, I'm
carrying almost a third of my body weight, and my back is always in need of a massage.
But like any teenager, I would rather suffer pain, than embarrassment.
According to Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, a filled
backpack should not weigh more than fifteen percent of a teenager's weight. So, if a child
weighs one hundred and twenty pounds, her pack should not exceed eighteen pounds. Some
people argue that we don≠t use our lockers as much as we should, so we're carrying
unnecessary weight. Well, I use my locker everyday. I make sure to carry only what I
absolutely need to, from, and during school.
So what can be done to cut down on the burden? Ms. McNulty's French classes use CD copies of her textbooks.A considerable majority of teenagers have access to a computer at home and those who don≠t may use the computers in the school library. Those programs work very well, and should be considered for all of our textbooks. This probably will not get done very quickly, but with enough support, we can fix this problem.
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