No Backpacks in Classrooms Policy

Students and teachers face off on this controversial topic

Mr. Davidson, Teacher

As far as the backpacks go, there are two things about that: this is just my opinion, but you guys look ridiculous walking down the hallways with these huge backpacks stuffed to the point of busting zippers, leaning over at the weight, putting more stress on your growing bones than you need to be doing. Some kids have backpacks attached to back packs. For goodness sake, do you have to hire a Sherpa if you have a class upstairs? (Don’t ask me what a Sherpa is. Look it up on your phone!)

I move around my classroom all day long, When backpacks are on the floor, they are a tripping hazard. I’m surprised no one has notified OSHA about it. I used to try to push them out of the way and under a desk to clear a walking path, but the packs are so heavy it’s not easy to just push them. I started looking around my room for a place where they wouldn’t be out of the way, and I realized that my room gets used everywhere, whether it’s white boards, computers on counter tops, or near the drafting tables. The only logical place would be on the tables, but when I was using a white board, or projecting something, students would move the packs back to the floor so they could see the instruction. For a brief time, I had the students just leave them in the hallway, but Mr. Malloy informed me that becomes a safety hazard in the case of an emergency evacuation. The last logical place is to have student belongings stored safely locked in a space designed for each student… the lockers.

A few years back, the students complained Mr. Warner, about there not being enough time between classes. He told us that one day he started in the math classroom that is in the corner upstairs. When the bell rang, he walked all the way to the weight room, went inside said, “Hello” to Coach Whisenant and then went back to his office in the five minute period between classes with time to spare. I wasn’t even sure that it was possible. Therefore, the next day, I waited for the bell to ring. All of the students left my classroom and I went upstairs to the math department. I leaned into Mr. Mergen’s room and said, “Hello.” I then proceeded to go down to the weight room and say hello to Coach Whisenant and then head back to my classroom. As I approached my room, I noticed that I had time to spare, so I used the restroom and got a drink of water from the fountain. I then walked over to Mrs. Frye, who was standing outside of her classroom, and told her the experiment that I just had done. She kindly responded and each of us walked to our classroom with time to spare when the bell finally rang. This experiment makes the argument that there isn’t enough time to go to your locker between classes is null and void.

These issues are about self-discipline. No one likes to make rules for the sake of making rules. Rules have to be made because privilege is being abused.