Drama Has Started For Next School Year :Backpack Edition

[RedAngie]

Back in the Stone Age, backpacks were unheard of for school. They were only used for hiking, camping, etc.

We carried our books and supplies in “school bags” like these up until junior high.



In high school most students just carried their books in their arms. It was considered dorky and uncool to carry them in some type of luggage.

I was ultra embarrassed one year in Catholic grammar school when my mother covered a book with the brown paper bag but left the A&P logo showing right on the front!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Didn't think kids needed backpacks anymore. My kids are adults, and my oldest grandchild graduated from Kindergarten today, but I thought everything was done online. The schools since the pandemic here have given the kids all tablets where they can access all their textbooks and assignments. Or they can choose to use a device at home. Learn something everyday.

No, not everywhere. In most cases electronic books need to be licensed each year, and that is quite expensive, so lots of schools are sticking with hardcopy to save money, because hardcopy books can generally be re-used for several years at no extra cost.

DD just graduated from a private school; we had to buy her books each year. Hardcopy textbooks could be rented or purchased used from bookstores or other parents, but the electronic ones were hellishly-expensive: her AP American government textbook license this year was $210 for 10 months' access. She hauled a very full backpack to and from home everyday, and around school most of the day as well; they had full-size lockers, but the school is large and the passing time between classes only 5 minutes; most kids only managed to visit their lockers before & after school and during lunch break. The school also required a MacBook, but the cost of electronic textbooks was just too much for most parents to stomach when there was a cheaper alternative with the same content.

Public schools generally get a price-break when licensing for an entire district, but it's still not inexpensive. Lots of schools just feel they can't justify it.

 

[tvguy]

No, not everywhere. In most cases electronic books need to be licensed each year, and that is quite expensive, so lots of schools are sticking with hardcopy to save money, because hardcopy books can generally be re-used for several years at no extra cost.

DD just graduated from a private school; we had to buy her books each year. Hardcopy textbooks could be rented or purchased used from bookstores or other parents, but the electronic ones were hellishly-expensive: her AP American government textbook license this year was $210 for 10 months' access. She hauled a very full backpack to and from home everyday, and around school most of the day as well; they had full-size lockers, but the school is large and the passing time between classes only 5 minutes; most kids only managed to visit their lockers before & after school and during lunch break. The school also required a MacBook, but the cost of electronic textbooks was just too much for most parents to stomach when there was a cheaper alternative with the same content.

Public schools generally get a price-break when licensing for an entire district, but it's still not inexpensive. Lots of schools just feel they can't justify it.

That's crazy. My kids still used hard copy books when they were in private high school, but they bought them used and resold them each year. I think everything is digital now at their former school. Teachers were fortunately very price conscious in selecting text books. Unlike College. My son was livid when he bought a book and got to class to discover it wasn't needed, the Professor just thought "you might like to read it". REALLY? Some students never bought any of the books because they were all available in the reference section of their library.