Backpacks are an essential school item for students everywhere, from keeping students’ homework organized and safe to carrying everyday school essentials. If one was to look inside any student’s backpack, they would probably find the basics, such as notebooks, folders, and pencils. These are the obvious items a student should have in order to function in an academic setting properly. Nevertheless, do any students at Parker have a “need to know” organization strategy? Or maybe a fun and quirky item they have inside of their bag, or even just a fun bag? Non-school related supplies in backpacks and students now starting to use purses and tote bags instead of backpacks are becoming a more common thing in school buildings.
Homework, worksheets, and other loose papers tend to reside in students’ bags. There are different ways to organize these papers, such as using color coded folders for each individual class. There are many other strategies that Parker students use to organize their bags — “I use an organization folder for all of my papers for all of my classes. It has different sections for every class I need. I keep all the loose papers from every class in there. This folder helps me tremendously to stay organized and not lose my material,” freshman backpack user Sofie Skidelsky said.
But how do students with other types of bags organize them? Tote bag user enior Jane Lennon described her tote. “I have a bag organizer that I purchased from Etsy. Otherwise my bag is pretty messy” Lennon saidStudents with other forms of bags are having trouble keeping their bags organized. This is due to the fact that tote bags and purses don’t already have the built-in organization , such as pockets, that backpacks do. Although this does not mean that other bags are impossible to organize, they just require more effort.
Students use their bags for far more than just school related things. “I like to keep a fidget in my backpack, just in case that I get bored during class. Also, since lunch this year is at 1 o’clock, I really like to bring snacks. Overall, I keep a lot of useful things in my backpack that I use throughout the day,” Skidelsky said. “I actually have some play dough in my bag that I got in a little bag during Life Kit. I bring it out when I need to be stimulated during class,” Lennon said. Having food and fidgets in school bags is a trend a lot of students seem to follow. No matter if a student uses a tote bag or backpack, what they keep is more or less in common.
School bags have many school benefits to students but also personal benefits. Not only can backpacks help students organize for school but also meet their own needs, whether it is an accordion binder for organization or a Tide pen to be able to fix those little life mistakes. Bags can be used for far more than just a way for students to transport their stuff from class to class. Knowing what someone has in their bag lets us know a little more about how they function as an individual. Having a purse or tote bag instead of a backpack for some students offers them not only a way to take the weight off of their back, but also, a way to show off their own style.
