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VOICE YOUR VIEWS - Book, books, books...too heavy for kids to carry
THEY SAID IT
A way out
A weighty backpack will lead to back pain and faulty posture. The American Occupational Therapy Association recommends that children should not carry a bag that weighs more than 15 per cent of their body weight. Also, the backpack should not hang more than four inches below the waist. Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps for balance. Well padded straps are recommended. If the backpack is too heavy, talk to the teacher and ask if your child can leave the heavier books at school in a locker. If possible, go in for a separate set of text books to keep at home.
Dr. C. Rajagopal
Executive Vice-President Technology Advance Centre
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For a slim bag
Due to the weight of the bag, most kids start slouching at a young age. Instead of separate textbooks for each subject, the authorities can consolidate termwise syllabus of all the subjects in one text book. This was introduced in a few schools some years ago, but was discontinued. Maybe the Government can implement it again.
Pa. Shanthi
Lecturer Sri Sairam Engineering College
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A Mixed Bag?
The accessories of two wheelers these days include hooks to “hang school and lunch bags of children”. Whither civilisation? The statistical majority of the image of a school goer is a bent back, a lowered head, shoulders sagging with the load of the backpack and lunch bag. An average school day has 6 to 8 periods. Each subject has a textbook, a notebook and sometimes a workbook. A simple arithmetic of an average weight of each of these added cumulatively might amount to 15 per cent of the weight of a 12-year-old student. This land has produced marvellous epics on just oral traditions of learning. Why have we estranged ourselves from our intelligent practices? Is learning solely in the content or is it in the process? This is a serious pedagogical question for every educational institution to ponder.
At The School, KFI, the attempt has been to keep “learning” at the heart of education in a variety of contexts; from the self, from peers, from adults; through activities, reflection, dialogue, projects, trips, films, interactions with peers from heterogeneous backgrounds and aesthetic experiences. Books are the only important context. The day is arranged flexibly to provide different rhythms..... On any given day, there are only 3 to 4 ‘subjects’ amidst other activities. Physical fitness is given emphasis. In essence, the endeavour is to empower the students with tools to learn and the art of learning to learn so that “the weight of knowledge” does not oppress education.
Padmavathy.S
Teacher The School-KFI
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