Tablets lift the weight of old-school books
IT’S that time again; that hectic week when parents rush round the shops gathering shoes, uniform and books for the start of a new school year. While parents bear the brunt of the financial weight, it’s their children who end up with the heaviest burden.
There have been worries since time began about the weight of schoolbags. It’s a subject that comes up time and time again. The latest survey from England found that most children there carried up to 20% of their body weight on their back, and this can cause horrendous long-term damage.
And it’s a similar story in Ireland. A school in Kerry who surveyed their pupils found that the average schoolbag weighed a whopping two stone. If we don’t find solutions, we’ll end up with an epidemic of back problems in young adults.
Paul O’Neill, a practitioner of Amatsu soft tissue therapy from Japan, has treated several teenagers. And he says it’s a growing problem.
“It’s exacerbated because children aren’t as fit as they once were,” he says. “They have a more sedentary lifestyle, and that results in a weaker back. Most adults I see have problems that stem from their lifestyle; with children, add to a weak back a heavy bag slung over one shoulder, and you’re more likely to see a back problem.”
What, though, is the solution? Some schools are going digital, and are offering iPads and other computer tablets to their pupils. Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny offered them to all their first years last September.
“We’ve had lots of problems with schoolbooks over the years,” says the principal, Colm Keher. “There are difficulties sourcing second-hand books when the text updates, and then there’s the issue of the weight.
“We surveyed our pupils, and found that it’s the junior students who carry the heaviest weight. We offer 13 subjects, and the first years were carrying in excess of 15kg just in text books and copies. That is way and above what is healthy, even for an adult back. For a child it is entirely inappropriate.
“We’ve been weighing up the pros and cons of going digital for many years. And with the advance in tablets the arguments in favour became compelling. The students are growing up in a technological age; their workplace will be digital. It’s the future.”
The school chose the Samsung Galaxy. The device costs €320, but add the cost of the license for the text books and it rises to €650. The high cost is due to VAT which is applicable on digital books but exempt from traditional text books.
“The school buys the devices, and we spread the cost to the parents over the first three years,” says Keher. “We charged them €300 for the first year, and we will charge a further €€180 for the second and third years.”
Have there been any breakages?
“Out of 170 tablets there were three screen breakages, and three that stopped working; two of those were the manufacturer’s fault,” says Keher.
There are some downsides. There are parents who would like their children to get away from screens, and it’s hard to avoid the distraction of social media.
“We have to teach the children to use their tablets in a meaningful, positive way, and we can educate parents on how to control software and maybe turn off the path to wifi.
“We recently surveyed the teachers, parents and pupils, and the reaction to the tablet from all three groups was largely positive. Just 10% of each group said they would rather have conventional text books.”
Margo Fleming, a mum of four from Wicklow, isn’t keen on her children using a tablet at school. But the issue of schoolbags has been weighing on her mind for many years now.
“I watched my older two girls for years, struggling to carry their schoolbags, and when my son started secondary school, the worries came back to the fore. He had been walking to school, but I started to drive him in, simply because of the weight of his school books.
“I often said to him, ‘I’m going to split your books in half’, and then I began to wonder if there was a way I could actually do that. And with my youngest daughter due to start secondary school this year, I decided to develop the idea as a business.
“I ran the idea past the principal of East Glendalough school last summer, and he agreed to let me try a pilot scheme at the school. I bought a book binding machine, and I split and bound the books myself. It was a success, but I realised it wouldn’t work on a bigger scale, so I researched how to manufacture do it yourself kits.
“That’s how www.Booksplits.ie was born. The kit is simple is use. There’s a hard cover for each half of the book, covered with plastic, with a flexible back spine. It’s self adhesive, and makes the books easy to identify. ”
When 15-year-old Saoirse Yuam started at Coláiste Chraobh Abhann in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, she was carrying all her books around with her all day. And the strain soon started to show.
Saoirse already had tenderness in her neck, which was probably whiplash after a minor bus crash, but the school books exacerbated the pain, and she needed to go for treatment.
“The pain was really severe when she was in first year,” says her mother, Tina. “I’m convinced the schoolbooks were to blame. She was so terrified that she wouldn’t have the right books for the class, that she’d carry all her books everywhere. The weight was ridiculous.”
Tina stresses that the school wasn’t to blame. “They told us that our children were carrying all their books unnecessarily. They said, ‘This isn’t on’, and they tried to stop them. But the children simply lacked confidence.
“The problem hasn’t altogether gone away. But her back is a lot less painful than it was. She’s more confident now. She knows she can leave books in lockers, and leave the ones she doesn’t need at home. So she carries far fewer books around with her.”
*Take care to choose the right size for your child.
*Choose padded straps, and make sure they fit snugly.
*Encourage your child to use the waist strap, and never to throw the bag over one shoulder.
*Tell them to pack the heaviest items closest to their back.
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