Beijing, 30 May (Xinhua) -- On 30 May, Xinhua Daily Telegraph published a report entitled "Little Boy, What Is It Like to Go to School with a 'Bow Your Waist'?" ——A report on the phenomenon of "big school bags" for elementary school students.
"Primary school students get up early, carry their school bags to school, jump to the campus, see the teacher and salute..." This is the "standard style" of elementary school students when they go to school. However, for many elementary school students now, it is not easy to "bounce" to school.
Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters recently interviewed primary school students, parents and relevant people in many places and learned that with the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, students' homework burden has been reduced overall, but the problem of overweight school bags for primary school students still exists. Among the interviewed students, school bags "weigh six or seven pounds is normal, and a dozen pounds are not few."
Small body board carrying large school bags, some children are used to "walking hunched back", some children will shout shoulder pain. Some experts pointed out that long-term weight-bearing backpacks will affect spinal health, and even affect the development of the thoracic cage, bringing adverse effects to children's body and mind.
A student at an elementary school stands on the side of the road with a schoolbag after school (pictured on April 10). All pictures are taken by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Liu Yangtao
"Don't talk about children, adults will have sore shoulders when they carry them all the way"
In the evening, the sun is tilting to the west, and at the entrance of a primary school in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, parents who come to pick up their children fill the nearby streets. As soon as Ms. Li received her son, she took the bag and carried it on her shoulder. "It's not to pamper children, it's really that this bag is too heavy." Ms. Li said that the child is only in the first grade, weighs a little more than 40 pounds, but has a school bag of eight or nine pounds, and it takes ten minutes to walk home every day, worried about affecting the child's physical development, so he usually backpacks for the child. "Don't talk about children, adults will have sore shoulders all the way back."
After obtaining the consent of Ms. Li and her children, the reporter opened the bag and saw that there were more than a dozen books in the bag for Chinese and mathematics alone. Chinese has textbooks, writing books, No. 1 workbooks, No. 2 workbooks, dictionaries, mathematics textbooks, exercise books, No. 1 workbooks, No. 2 workbooks, oral arithmetic books, error correction books, plus English textbooks, science textbooks, extracurricular books, stationery, the whole bag is stuffed. "That's not counting the kettles, math tools, art bags, these are heavier." Ms. Li said.
In Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Mr. Wu, a parent, sends his daughter to school every day. "At the school gate, you can often see some children hunched over the school gate, because it will save effort to carry the bag." Mr. Wu said that because the schoolbag is too heavy to carry, he often needs the help of adults to lift it so that the child can carry it on his shoulder. "I wanted to give my child a trolley bag, but the teacher said no, because dragging a bag on campus might run into other children."
Speaking of her child's school bag, Ms. Han, a parent from Kunming, Yunnan, also called it "distressed". "The bag is back, it feels like half of the height, and the child sometimes comes back and shouts that her shoulder hurts, so let's rub it." Ms. Han said, "When we were young, we went to school with two books, and sometimes we went home without even taking anything after school, and now our schoolbags are too heavy. ”
On social platforms, the weight of primary school students' schoolbags has become a topic of "complaining" by many netizens. Hubei netizen "hi Tomei" said: "I used to think that parents helping to endorse school bags was doting on children, and I only knew it after Tomei went to school, which was too heavy." Zhejiang netizen "single eyelid small back" said: "My son is very thin in the first grade, he bought a large school bag, there are 5 books related to language, 3 books related to mathematics, and there are test papers in folders, and he brings half a cup of warm water in the morning, and every time he has to walk hunched over his back." Xinjiang netizen "Sober Yan" said: "The schoolbag I carry every day is so heavy, and the grandfather who picked up the children from school asked why it was so heavy, and he said that it was the weight of knowledge." ”
The reporter interviewed and learned that many schools have explored "reducing the burden of school bags". Some schools have set up "no homework days", "easy bags", "school bags to stay in school" and other activities to promote the reduction of homework and raise the awareness of parents and students to reduce the burden of school bags, and achieved good results, but there are still some schools that do not pay much attention to the problem of overweight school bags.
Experts said that primary school is a critical period of growth and development, it is generally believed that the weight of schoolbags should be controlled at 10%-15% of students' weight, and the recommended health industry standard "Primary and Secondary School Students' Schoolbag Hygiene Requirements" issued by the National Health Commission clearly states that the weight of schoolbags carried by students should not exceed 10% of students' weight. However, relevant surveys have shown that the problem of excessive weight of school bags exists to varying degrees in many places.
The reporter selected 6 primary schools in a provincial capital city in central China, randomly investigated the weight of 53 students and the weight of school bags, and the results showed that the weight of primary school students' school bags was generally more than five or six pounds, and it was not uncommon for school bags weighing more than ten pounds, of which 48 people weighed 10% of their school bags, accounting for 90%; There were 26 people who weighed 15% of their school bags, accounting for 49%.
Mu Xianglan, associate professor at Guangdong Shaoguan University, told reporters that her team conducted a survey of 545 students in four primary schools in a county in Guangdong and found that 436 students weighed 10% of their school bags, accounting for 80%; 177 people were overweight by 15%, accounting for 32%. "We found that some children's school bags were too large to fit in the desk drawers and had to hang behind chairs, affecting the children's space between the desks."
The reporter's search found that in recent years, CPPCC members in Yunnan, Henan, Guangdong and other places have put forward relevant proposals for reducing the burden of student school bags. A sample survey conducted by Wan Yanjuan, a member of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, showed that the weight of schoolbags of local primary school students in Kunming was basically 5-9 kg, and the parents interviewed complained about the excessive weight of school bags. In November last year, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education replied to the "Proposal on Reducing the Burden of Primary School Students' School Bags" put forward by Xu Yan and other CPPCC members, saying that the current problem of heavy school bags for primary school students is indeed a common phenomenon.
A first-grade elementary school student's bag is weighed (pictured April 9).
Behind the phenomenon of elementary school students carrying "big school bags"
The phenomenon of primary school students carrying "big school bags" has been around for a long time, and it is not unique to the mainland, and there are multiple reasons behind this social problem.
The heavy school bag to some extent reflects that the schoolwork burden of primary school students is still heavy. Some interviewed parents reported that although the "double reduction" policy makes it clear that written homework is not assigned in the first and second grades, and the written homework in other grades does not exceed 1 hour, in fact, some schools will still assign some extended homework every day, such as preview review, dictation and silent writing, oral arithmetic, practice papers, etc., and some first-grade students have to write homework until eight or nine o'clock in the evening every day, and "the books they use must be memorized home".
"Before the child went to school, he thought that the child wrote homework and cried while writing, and the parents tutored homework and put their heads in the refrigerator, and when the child went to elementary school, he knew that it was all true." One parent said that the person he envied the most in an essay was his sister who was in kindergarten, because her sister did not have to write homework.
Qiao Fucun, a teacher at Ding Hui Experimental Primary School affiliated to Zhejiang Normal University, told reporters that after the "double reduction", the homework in some schools has indeed decreased, but parents are not less anxious, worried that their children's knowledge is not firm, the foundation is not good, and it will affect further education, they will sign up for extracurricular tutoring for their children and buy teaching aids "chicken dolls", which will also increase the weight of school bags.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that the weight of primary school students' school bags is not a new problem, and has not been substantially changed for a long time, the fundamental reason is that the deep-level education evaluation reform is not in place, the management reform is not in place, "everyone wants to enter a good school, or compete for test scores, this mechanism has not changed."
The lag in school security services is also a major reason for the heavy school bag. The reporter learned that some schools do not supply boiled water to students, students must bring their own boiled water, and the kettle full of water is not light; Some schools have insufficient storage facilities, students stay on campus at noon to eat and rest, and receive extended care after school, and the lunch boxes, art equipment, music equipment, sports goods, extracurricular reading materials and other items they carry have nowhere to store and can only be carried on their backs every day.
Although many primary schools have storage facilities, they are not used effectively. One parent reported that books could be placed on the school's desk, but the teacher forced the child to empty the desk and put the chair upside down on the table every day before leaving the school. A fourth-grader said that teachers check the cleanliness of lockers from time to time, so that many students do not put too many things in the lockers and carry them home as they can.
Some teachers reported that in addition to normal class use, classrooms in many schools also have after-school club activities, class walks, centralized lunch breaks, etc., which increases the mobility of personnel and increases the difficulty of management. Many times the school will require that no personal belongings of international students be allowed in the classroom to prevent the loss of items.
Some students lack the awareness and ability to organize school bags, which is also considered to be an important reason for excessive school bags. Some junior students do not organize their bags according to the class schedule, and all the books are packed in their bags, whether useful or not; Some students' school bags have everything after opening, cluttered, snacks, toys and other unnecessary things account for a lot of weight; Some students are afraid to leave their books at school, fearing that they will forget what they need and delay their homework.
In the interview, the reporter also found that the school will change classes temporarily from time to time, and if you change classes and do not bring textbooks, you may be criticized by teachers. To avoid this, students memorize textbooks and workbooks for the main course every day.
In fact, the books used by elementary school students are now heavier than before. An industry insider engaged in educational publishing told reporters that in the past, most of the tutorial books and exercise books were made of light paper, although light and thin, but the ink and flexibility were poor, but now they are basically replaced with offset paper, the ink and flexibility are better, and the weight will be slightly heavier; The state has strict normative requirements for the paper material, thickness, font size, etc. of primary school textbooks, and these standards are formulated based on various considerations, and cannot only consider the weight of this factor.
Multiple measures to "reduce weight" for primary school students' school bags
Zhu Houwei, a teacher at the School of Physical Education and Health Sciences of Zhejiang Normal University who has long been concerned about the weight of primary school students' school bags, said that moderate weight bearing is beneficial to the body, and carrying school bags in a scientific posture without fatigue may become a way of exercise, but long-term heavy backpacks and backpacks with poor posture will bring health risks, such as muscle discomfort, neck and shoulder joint injuries, high and low shoulders, excessive forward flexion of the body, etc.
Zhao Sheng, deputy director of the Department of Orthopedics of the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, believes that the current frequent spinal diseases in adolescents and children are related to insufficient physical exercise, poor posture and heavy school bags. "Long-term weight-bearing backpacks will affect the development of the spine, cause spinal deformities, affect the development of the entire organs, especially the thoracic cage, and bring adverse effects to the body and psychology of children and adolescents." Zhao Sheng said.
Some parents said that schools should further strengthen homework management, not assign students excessive, unnecessary and repetitive homework, and at the same time consolidate after-school services, try to let students complete homework at school, and leave books that they do not use at home at school.
Schools should further strengthen their security services, and schools should not force students to carry all items home for the convenience of management. It is recommended that schools strengthen the construction of hardware, add storage spaces such as lockers and school bag cabinets, and schools with strong classroom mobility can set up lockers in public areas outside the classroom, and guide students to put textbooks and items that do not need to be brought home in school as much as possible to reduce the weight of school bags.
Mu Xianglan, Zhu Houwei and other experts suggested that schools should incorporate the cultivation of students' awareness and ability to organize into relevant courses and activities, teach students the skills of organizing school bags through labor classes, theme class meetings, etc., and also carry out school bag hygiene knowledge competitions, school bag sorting competitions, school bag hygiene experts selection and other activities to promote students to develop good habits of sorting school bags. Parents should also consciously guide their children to organize ability training and habit training.