School Uniforms Are Important

662 Words3 Pages
In June 2003, the parents at a southeastern Ontario high school entered into a rather heated debate with administration about the issue of student backpacks. As a result of these discussions, a new rule concerning the use of backpacks in the classroom was instituted at *Belle View District Secondary School. As of September 2003, students were no longer permitted to bring their backpacks into the classroom. Although students make their objections to this rule known on a daily basis, the rule is one that deserves administrative support. Backpacks should not be allowed in the classroom because they pose a threat to student safety, they contribute to back injuries and they do not provide students with the opportunity to develop organizational skills. First of all, backpacks should be prohibited on the basis of student safety in the classroom. Since the desks in most classrooms do not provide enough storage space for large items, students often leave their bulky backpacks in the aisles between the desks. Here they pose a threat to student safety as students are presented with a dangerous obstacle course each time they leave their desks. Backpacks also provide angry students with covert storage space for lethal weapons. Guns and knives can be readily concealed and then brought into the classroom. Also, backpacks make theft a lot easier in the classroom. Students can readily steal and then hide valuable items such as CD players, mobile phones and expensive digital organizers in their backpacks. Because backpacks pose a threat to both student and teacher safety, they should not be allowed in classrooms. Backpacks have also been known to contribute to physical injuries. For instance, students tend to carry all their textbooks in their backpacks. This makes the backpacks ridiculously heavy. Studies have shown that when students improperly carry
Open Document