Yet another good reason to get "back to basics:"
...Students and parents across the state have complained about the high weight of textbooks and backpacks. And lawmakers are listening. A proposal making its way through the General Assembly calls for the state to study — and set — textbook weight limits in elementary, middle and high school...
''Standards could be a good thing,'' said Larry Gregory, director of textbook services for the state Department of Education. ''What we want to avoid is rushing into those standards too quickly.''
If approved, weight limits could be set by July 1, 2005.
Many states, including Tennessee, are monitoring what happens in California, which studied textbook weights statewide and might be the first state to require lighter volumes.
Backpacks with wheels aren't a bad idea, either, although it would be illuminating if the "progressive education" crowd asked themselves why textbooks now weigh so much more than they used to. When a seventh-grade Algebra textbook can be 882 pages yet still provide an insufficient amount of content coverage and depth, it's time to go back to the drawing board.
Posted by kswygert at March 22, 2004 03:23 PM