Good morning all. I'm upset with the administrators at my youngest daughter's school, and am about ready to rip them a new one! Here's a little background info: The high school does not allow the kids to go to their lockers at any time during the school day....they are allowed to put coats in their lockers in morning and return to their lockers at the end of the school day. They must carry all books and supplies with them the entire day. Due to the size of the school body, they have 3 separate lunch hours....when one lunch is going on, the other two are still in class. My daughter's backpack weighs 85 pounds when loaded with her school books; she also has to carry her binder and one other school book in her arms because they will not fit inside her pack. The kid only weighs 105 pounds so her backpack weighs over 3/4 of her body weight.
Yesterday afternoon she was hoisting her pack up on her back after 3rd hour and hurt her back and both shoulders doing so. This morning she's in a lot of pain. She had to go to school as they are getting all their review packets today for final exams next week. She can't carry her pack this morning....it hurts too bad to lift it up. So I told her to leave all school books and the pack home this morning (the only book she has with her is her math book), just take homework papers and her binder with her, and I wrote a note explaining what happened to her yesterday for her to share with her teachers. I just got off the phone with the school. Her Biology teacher sent her to In School Suspension room for the day because she didn't have her Bio book with her, and the school called me to inform me. I explained why she doesn't have her text books today, told them she is in a lot of pain and can't carry that kind of weight right now.....they said it doesn't matter; she's supposed to be prepared for class every day. So I told them to get her review packets from every class and I will be out to get her from school. They won't allow her to get the reviews for final exams due to being in ISS. Her teachers are including the review packets into final exam grades. I'm picking her up from school in an hour with or without review packets and taking her to the doctor to find out how badly injured her back is.
While on the phone with them, I asked why the kids can't leave afternoon text books in lockers in the morning then return to lockers at lunch to drop off morning books and pick up afternoon books. They said it's because they've had students fooling around in the hallways disrupting classrooms that are in session. Campus Security was told to not allow anyone to return to their locker for any reason, and if a student does they will be suspended from school for 3 days for 1st offense, 10 days for 2nd, 60 days for 3rd. I asked what if they have a doctor's slip stating they can't carry that kind of weight on their backs due to an injury........doesn't matter, same rules apply.
I made the call about her leaving her books home today and she's being penalized for it. I feel I did the right thing. What would you guys have done?
Right now I'm in the mood to go to the next school board meeting (which is Monday night) with her fully loaded backpack and raise some hell. I'd like to see the board members carry her backpack around all day, every day, for a week!! Bet they'd change the policy in a hurry!!
I agree fully with you Ghost. I understand the school's side that they have problems with kids fooling around in the halls, but this is a classic case of punishing everyone for the sins of a few, and then being foolhardedly rigid with their rules when a need for some flexibility is obvious. I would absolutely go to the school board meeting and let them know the situation, and I would also think a lawsuit might be appropriate if it turns out that she has a significant injury due to the backpack and/or she does poorly on her finals due to their not giving her the review papers.
Any pediatrician will tell you that kids backpacks should be loaded appropriate to their size and weight, and that carrying overloaded backpacks can be harmful.
As for their lack of consideration towards your situation - why does power go to some people's heads so easily? Everywhere from Wall Street and the US Gov't all the way down to local boards and athletics and even my neighborhood committee, it seems with some people that even the slightest amount of authority goes to their head and they become inflexible and completely void of common sense or the ability to see anyone's opinion than their own. I'll never understand it. I'm by far not the world's best or most humble person, but I've been in charge of sizeable teams in the workplace and never once thought that that instantly made me all-important or all-knowing.
I think I would go the school board route too. They can't expect the kids to carry all of their books around all day long. That is just stupid. Just another example of a failed policy put in place by a "leader" with absolutely no real sense.
The school's policy is ridiculous and dangerous... obviously. I agree with Murs... get the medical report and file suit. I'd also suggest calling the local TV stations and sharing this information with them. Put some public pressure on them to change their ways. It is insanity to require every kid to carry every book and all of their other supplies with them all day. I would bet that your daughter is not the only kid to suffer this type of injury. What if there is a physically disabled child in the school who is not capable of supporting that kind of weight?
There are better answers to the problems in the hallways. Put some adults in the hallways to supervise between classes. Heck, get the local police to patrol the halls if nothing else. I don't know what it is like in the schools there, but almost every school where I am has at least a D.A.R.E. officer in every school.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
That is just ridiculous Ghost. No child should have to carry all their books for the entire day. I can't even understand how they all even fit in a backpack. Plus, don't doctors say not to do that for the health of the children? I think it is time to kick some ass. I'll bet even those teachers and administrators can't carry the weight of the kids backpacks. The biology teacher pushed it way too far. It seems excessive. It is not like she forgot the book, she has a written reason. One or two days should be accepted. When I was in school we had four lunch periods because of the size of the school. You always took your morning books, stopped at your locker and swapped everything out at lunch and then went to the cafeteria to eat. You had the time between bells to get you stuff swapped out. That way no one was in the hallways when the next classes started.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
I hate public school -- At this moment, I can feel my chest tightening and my blood pressure rising. All these rules they have to enforce... no wonder they don't have time to properly teach. What's even scarier is that some of these adults are responsible for teaching our children common sense
I think Murs put it best.
You should go to the next board meeting with her pack loaded and ask them to try lifting it. Then put the ball in their court and ask them to honestly answer what the best solution would have been or what one of them would have done if it were one of their children... Start talking lawyers and they'll back down. It's not a matter of wanting special treatment, it's a matter of common sense (or lack of).
My niece had a very bad shoulder injury from carrying her pack. She had muscle atrophy and required three years of physical therapy. She still has problems with her shoulder -- she's 30.
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You should fear anything that can bleed for seven days without dying... (as told to Mr. DS on 3-12-10)
I'm actually a big supporter of public schools - my parents, grandparents, and wife are teachers, and in PA we generally have good schools - but DS did hit on a great point about having to enforce all the rules. Between federal and state gov't and local district rules and regulations, the teachers often really are hamstrung. That teacher probably felt pretty bad and foolish for sending Ghost's daughter to ISS, but he/she has to follow the rules and obviously has no alternative. My father spent many hours fighting administrations over poorly thought-out or just plain stupid rules like this one. Again, I go back to my lament - why is it that some people, once they reach any position of authority, suddenly lose all ability to think, all common sense, and suddenly think they and only they know what is right and what will work? They either can;t or refuse to see what it's really like 'in the trenches', whether it's in schools, businesses, gov't, whatever.
Again, I'm not saying I'm the world's smartest person or anything, but how can someone not see the flaws in implementing a policy that says your child must carry everything with them all day, and with no exceptions?
murscclub wrote:DS is right, it's got me all riled up now too....
And the twins aren't even in kindergarten yet. Could be a long 13 years.
Actually, they are in kindergarten this year, and we're alrady getting an introduction to state and local regulations with Alex needing a little additional support.
Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks some of the rules the schools come up with are just plain ridiculous. I'm still fuming mad tonight. I took my daughter to the doctor, she did a back x-ray...luckily no slipped disc or worse....just pulled the muscles near both shoulder blades. Doc gave her 2 prescriptions for pain and muscle relaxers, told her she is not to go to school the rest of this week because both meds cause extreme drowsiness; she also doesn't want her carrying her pack and forcing additional strain on those muscles. She was also not happy to hear about the school rules concerning changing out books at lunch time, said a lot more kids will be/have already been hurt by carrying too much excessive weight.
Anyway, I'm still planning on attending the board meeting with the pack loaded up just like she has to carry it every day and find out what they can do about this stupid rule at the school. And if I'm not satisfied, I will start contacting our local news people and get them involved too as Mema suggests.
There is nothing like a little public outrage to get things moving in your favor. Most schools don't want to deal with bad publicity. Really, seriously... the school administrators have to be crazy to think that this is a viable answer to their issues. I can't imagine what it would have been like to drag all of my books and supplies around with me all day. I think at worst I might have carried books for 3 classes with me when I knew I wouldn't have time to go to my locker between classes.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
Glad to hear your daughter isn't seriously injured Ghost, although I know it's very painful for her right now. Now, go get 'em next week at the school board meeting!!
Actually, I did carry all my books around with me the last 2 years of high school, one year I didn't even know my locker number, but...
My high school is large. There was 3500 kids in school when I graduated, and I think they're about ready to reach 5000 now. The building is 3 stories in some parts and takes up area that's probably equivalent to 6 blocks. It seemed like every year I had at least one instance where my next class was on the opposite side of the building than my previous one. I was lucky to get there on time without making any stops.
That was also the time my school switched to block scheduling, so I only had 4 classes a day. And at least one class each day was some type of art class, so I didn't have to carry a book around for it.
I'm still fuming mad tonight. I took my daughter to the doctor, she did a back x-ray...luckily no slipped disc or worse....just pulled the muscles near both shoulder blades. Doc gave her 2 prescriptions for pain and muscle relaxers, told her she is not to go to school the rest of this week because both meds cause extreme drowsiness; she also doesn't want her carrying her pack and forcing additional strain on those muscles. She was also not happy to hear about the school rules concerning changing out books at lunch time, said a lot more kids will be/have already been hurt by carrying too much excessive weight. 
