Boston: Legislature considering health risks of overloaded backpacks/textbooks

Boston.Com ^ | 9/26/2003 | AP

[yankeedame]

BOSTON -- A Sharon lawmaker has proposed limiting the weight of books used in public schools amid concerns about the health risks of overloaded backpacks.

State Rep. Louis Kafka's bill received its first reading on Thursday before the Legislature's joint committee on education.

[zencat]

Is this what government has come to?

[dead]

Perhaps we could build special padded cocoons for each child and transport them to school individually with a team of specially licensed "child handlers" to ensure their safe arrival.

We'll get the government to pick up the bill, so it doesn't cost us anything.

[Little Ray]

Maybe if there were something in the textbooks worth reading...

[Sir Gawain]

They have too much free time on their hands. I would prefer they do nothing, if they have no useful laws to pass.

[MeSpikeLibs]

Wow! I am glad I pay taxes so we can have these wonderful programs and important discoveries.

Sorry I had to throw in sarcasm....

[MontanaBeth]

He should try and lift my purse, I consider carrying it as good for the heart exercise.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Solution: Mandatory helmet law for school children, smart kids who need to do less homework must carry the books of the dumber kids with lots of books and, of course, padded sidewalks.

[misterrob]

Damn kids today...

when I was 12 years old I was carrying 25-30 lbs of books back and forth to the bus each day. wimps...

and no, it wasn't up the hill, in 3 feet of snow for 5 miles each way........

[GovernmentShrinker]

If kids were doing schoolwork in school, instead of wasting time on all sorts of loopy indoctrination programs, they could leave the books at school, and spend after school time on home and family and non-school activities. Read The End of Homework. Studies have shown that homework accomplishes nothing at all before the high school level.