When I went to elementary school, I carried very little with me. Maybe a book or two, if I had homework, in my hand. Maybe my three ring binder with the little pocket in it for pencils and the like. But that was it. Most work was at school, and what there was to do at home only required the book (since, of course, we had paper and pencils at home).<\/p>\n
It was only when I reached junior high that I found need for a backpack, since I biked there rather than walking. And that was a simple canvas bag. We had lockers to stuff stuff into.<\/p>\n
Ditto for high school. I think I probably went to a larger, zippered bag, since I ended up for a time in a clime that had weather.<\/p>\n
In college, again I biked a lot. I had a small zippered backpack that I used to carry the few notebooks or a text or two I needed for the classes that day. Since I lived on campus, it wasn’t that big a deal to go back to the dorm for what I needed.<\/p>\n
I am aware that there are changes in tradition and the like over the years. For one thing, kids no longer have to engrave their homework on clay tablets with pointed sticks like I had to back in Babylonia. And I am aware that there is heightened awareness that the Humongous Backpacks sported by some kids are actually so large and heavy that they are causing back problems for the little tots.<\/p>\n
What I don’t understand is how this translates into backpacks with wheels and handles, like luggage, for elementary school kids.<\/i> I mean, big backpacks, obviously designed (Hello Kitty!) for elementary kids, being lugged around by children to elementary school.<\/p>\n
Can someone explain this to me? What have they got in there? Why do they need something that large? Has the world gone mad? Or should I just shut up and gum my gruel?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I went to elementary school, I carried very little with me. Maybe a book or two, if I had homework, in my hand. 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