CAUSES
Causes to know and understand what are the causes of this problem, the team decided to do the following;
1) Perform a Field Study
During assembly on one Monday, we decided to do a random check of student's bag. We wanted to see if students of that class had followed their time table wisely. At the same time students body weight was measured. The aim is to s.
To view the contents eg. type of books, size of water bottle, tiffin etc.
a) Measuring the weight of various school bags, checking the types of bags, etc
Below shows our team in action doing the Field Study
1) Perform a Field Study
During assembly on one Monday, we decided to do a random check of student's bag. We wanted to see if students of that class had followed their time table wisely. At the same time students body weight was measured. The aim is to s.
To view the contents eg. type of books, size of water bottle, tiffin etc.
- Randomly weigh the bags of students and also the weight of the student
- Review the usage of lockers by students
- To check if students are following the school's timetable or not
a) Measuring the weight of various school bags, checking the types of bags, etc
Below shows our team in action doing the Field Study
b) Viewing the usage of lockers
During our checkings, we noted that the lockers were not fully utilized. We were informed by our Students Affairs Head that the school had spent a lot of money on the lockers, but sadly it is not being fully utilized. Refer to pictures below :
During our checkings, we noted that the lockers were not fully utilized. We were informed by our Students Affairs Head that the school had spent a lot of money on the lockers, but sadly it is not being fully utilized. Refer to pictures below :
2) Perform Interviews with Teachers.
Further, we decided to have interviews with the school teachers. We asked the Headmaster Mr Azahari, the Students Affairs Head Madam Lim, the Year 1 Coordinator teacher Mrs Nazizah, and two other teachers on their opinions.
Mr Azahari bin Hj. Omar, Head of SKSBS mentioned;
1) the lockers should be fully utilised
2) students need to follow the school time-table properly
Madam Lim, Student Affair Head of SKSBS mentioned;
1) full cooperation of the parents is needed to resolve this issue
2) students need fully utilise the lockers as the school had invested a lot on it.
3) students need to follow the school time-table properly
1) full cooperation of the parents is needed to resolve this issue
2) students need fully utilise the lockers as the school had invested a lot on it.
3) students need to follow the school time-table properly
Mrs Naziza, Year 1 Coordinator of SKSBS mentioned full cooperation of students, teachers and parents is needed to solve this problem
Mrs Shamsiah, Teacher cum Parent mentioned that parents should avoid buying heavy bags.
3) Get feedback from Parents
We sent out feedback form to parents to get their feedback. Below are samples of the feedback form. (click on picture to expand)
Apart from this, interview was also done with parents. Below shows an interview with one of the parents Mrs Wan Rose Kinah whose child is in Year 5 of the school;
The parents mostly mentioned that the cause of the problem is;
a) that there are too many books per subject
b) their children fail to follow the time-table properly
c) they do not have enough time to monitor their child.
The parents mainly proposed the following;
a) lockers should be fully utilised
b) the school should make the time-table more easier to be understood
c) revision books not always used should be kept in the school
4) Study the students' types of bags and the method of carrying the bags.
We did a check for 3 days on how does the students carry their bags when coming to school. Some of them carried their bags using both straps, some only one and some just carried it using one hand even though there were straps on the bags. When asked why not use both straps, their answer was it's so 'uncool' with two straps. For some, it is easy to put their bag down on the floor, they rather use one strap.
We also realised that some students use the wrong type of bags, eg bags that are not padded on the shoulder.
The bags with small wheels and an attached handle can be heavier than non-wheels bags, but since it is easy to roll it from one place to the other, many parents prefer to buy the bags with wheels. However, when walking up and down the stairs, lifting of these type of bags can be a burden to little ones.
Conclusion
In conclusion we realised that the problem of heavy school bags are mainly due to the following :
a) that there are too many books per subject
b) their children fail to follow the time-table properly
c) they do not have enough time to monitor their child.
The parents mainly proposed the following;
a) lockers should be fully utilised
b) the school should make the time-table more easier to be understood
c) revision books not always used should be kept in the school
4) Study the students' types of bags and the method of carrying the bags.
We did a check for 3 days on how does the students carry their bags when coming to school. Some of them carried their bags using both straps, some only one and some just carried it using one hand even though there were straps on the bags. When asked why not use both straps, their answer was it's so 'uncool' with two straps. For some, it is easy to put their bag down on the floor, they rather use one strap.
We also realised that some students use the wrong type of bags, eg bags that are not padded on the shoulder.
The bags with small wheels and an attached handle can be heavier than non-wheels bags, but since it is easy to roll it from one place to the other, many parents prefer to buy the bags with wheels. However, when walking up and down the stairs, lifting of these type of bags can be a burden to little ones.
Conclusion
In conclusion we realised that the problem of heavy school bags are mainly due to the following :
- Too many stuff placed in the school bags
- Students not following school time table accurately
- Lockers not being fully utilised
- Wrong type of bags being used - some bags itself are just too heavy
- Bags are not properly carried - strap not used correctly.
- Some text books are just too heavy
- Too many books for each subjects