Why is fcps making elementary kids drag laptops to/from school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why my kid needs to take this laptop to and from school. He barely even gets any homework. I miss when they would have a math worksheet of homework and maybe something written. He carried this laptop to and from school daily last year and never used it at home besides to charge.

I didn’t see laptops out for my kindergarten child so I’m hoping/expecting that she won’t have to carry it. I remember my friend telling me that her tiny son had difficulty carrying his backpack with the laptop that was too heavy for him last year. She said he would tip over. The boy was the smallest in his class.

Are you always this dramatic? Chromebooks are not heavy. Buy your kid a backpack and tell them to wear both straps. Done. No, you are not getting paper "worksheets."

The PP didn’t say it is a Chromebook. Our students don’t have Chromebooks.

You’re being pedantic- laptop, chromebook, whatever. It’s still lighter than pretty much any textbook

Well, these laptops aren’t close to the size and weight of a Chromebook. I’m not composing about them having to be carried, but they are a decent bit heavier.

[Anonymous]

Just say no. Thats absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they don't have textbooks, so what's the problem? Is that still too heavy?

Yes, it is too heavy, especially for climbing in and out of the school bus. Current pediatric recommendation is for kids to carry not more than 10-15% of their body weight. There are many K-3 kids who weigh 40-60 lb, so you can do the math. When you account for backpacks, water bottles, snack, lunch boxes there isn’t room to add something that weighs another 5 lbs.

And, we are not talking about older students, but young elementary.

K-2 weren’t bringing them home to begin with, so you can up your weight limits.

I am not sure what you mean by you can increase weight limit. The 10-15% carrying weight is pediatric recommendation for all developing kids, including third graders. Or, are you making an assumption that all third graders are more than 60lbs? Mine is not.

To better explain the issue, imagine if on top what you need to bring to work every day you were asked to pack everything up into a backpack, then add 15 lb brick inside (I am using 15lb as 10-15% of about average weight of an adult person) and climb up and down bus stairs that are at least 50% taller than the existing steps in buildings (that’s how they feel for young kids). Fun and doable for an entire school year?

Also, my first grader was required to carry laptop every day during the peak of Covid.

[Anonymous]

At back to school they said they want the kids to charge them at home every night. Given that they're not assigning homework, charging would be the only reason that would make sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At back to school they said they want the kids to charge them at home every night. Given that they're not assigning homework, charging would be the only reason that would make sense to me.

We also send them home so that they come back the next day charged. Even though we don't use them every day, when we do need them we aren't able to have most of them plugged in at one time. We don't assign hw.

Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At back to school they said they want the kids to charge them at home every night. Given that they're not assigning homework, charging would be the only reason that would make sense to me.

We also send them home so that they come back the next day charged. Even though we don't use them every day, when we do need them we aren't able to have most of them plugged in at one time. We don't assign hw.

Teacher

Why cant they stay plugged in at school, preferably on a cart down the hall since they aren't needed every day?

[Anonymous]

My kids teacher had them on laptops ALL day last year and they never came home to charge. Thats a weird reason:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids teacher had them on laptops ALL day last year and they never came home to charge. Thats a weird reason:

It would be great if we had a computer cart that we could put out in the hall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At back to school they said they want the kids to charge them at home every night. Given that they're not assigning homework, charging would be the only reason that would make sense to me.

This is what we did last year and it was ridiculous. Took them back and forth just to charge.

[Anonymous]

What happened to all the carts schools had pre covid? Thats where the grade level laptops were stored/out of sight, iut of mind and plugged in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At back to school they said they want the kids to charge them at home every night. Given that they're not assigning homework, charging would be the only reason that would make sense to me.

This is what we did last year and it was ridiculous. Took them back and forth just to charge.

Imagine the class needs to use the laptops and half the students say they need to charge. Logistically it's a PITA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happened to all the carts schools had pre covid? Thats where the grade level laptops were stored/out of sight, iut of mind and plugged in

We had ~2 carts per grade level, and 5-6 classes per grade level. I know the lower grades up to grade 2 have carts, so maybe they went there? I'm not 100% sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We (two teachers) were both told it is a condition of the ESSER funding.

Stop making things up, we all know that's not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why my kid needs to take this laptop to and from school. He barely even gets any homework. I miss when they would have a math worksheet of homework and maybe something written. He carried this laptop to and from school daily last year and never used it at home besides to charge.

I didn’t see laptops out for my kindergarten child so I’m hoping/expecting that she won’t have to carry it. I remember my friend telling me that her tiny son had difficulty carrying his backpack with the laptop that was too heavy for him last year. She said he would tip over. The boy was the smallest in his class.

Are you always this dramatic? Chromebooks are not heavy. Buy your kid a backpack and tell them to wear both straps. Done. No, you are not getting paper "worksheets."

This is the FCPS forum, go back to wherever you're from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why my kid needs to take this laptop to and from school. He barely even gets any homework. I miss when they would have a math worksheet of homework and maybe something written. He carried this laptop to and from school daily last year and never used it at home besides to charge.

I didn’t see laptops out for my kindergarten child so I’m hoping/expecting that she won’t have to carry it. I remember my friend telling me that her tiny son had difficulty carrying his backpack with the laptop that was too heavy for him last year. She said he would tip over. The boy was the smallest in his class.

Are you always this dramatic? Chromebooks are not heavy. Buy your kid a backpack and tell them to wear both straps. Done. No, you are not getting paper "worksheets."

Last year, our school kept the Kindergarteners laptops at school after trying to send them home the first week. Too many kindergarteners either couldn't fit them in their small backpacks or were falling over from the weight. Literally falling over! You clearly (a) don't have a kid in FCPS and (b) don't have a small kindergartner. It's not good for ANYONE'S back to be carrying 10%+ of their weight on their back.