NH Schools Banning backpacks

[Spencer]

Unfortunately, students at public schools enjoy very little in the way of Constitutional protections.  Fortunately (I'm being sarcastic), it prepares students for going to the airport, courthouses, government buildings, and living in the United States.

To read what the "appropriate" standard is for determining when it is appropriate to seize / search students in public schools, read the 1985 U.S. Supreme Court opinion of New Jersey v. T.L.O.

It would be nice to have some students who "agitated" for civil disobedience / liberty-oriented activities in every school.  I think that the Internet has had a measurable effect on the attitudes of many students -- they get to see (and get upset about) arbitrary and overreaching government actions (including suspensions being imposed for off-campus activities, such as posting on MySpace, etc.).

[Mark]

This is funny because I know that some schools (elementary) REQUIRE kids to have a backpack.

Yup. Ours went so far as to tell us how to use it.

[KBCraig]

Most of our local schools require clear plastic backpacks, at least through the elementary grades. Upper grades get a pass, because they have so many books that are so heavy, the clear packs won't cut it.

Now, how much sense does that make? When's the last time you heard of a 5th grader blowing up a school? And those high-schoolers who brought guns, didn't do so in their backpacks!

It's a case of "We've got to do something!" meets "Zero tolerance!"  They sit around thinking of things they can "do", which don't require actually confronting anyone who is potentially dangerous.

Frankly, I don't worry about the backpack policy. All our school books are carried home from bookstores and garage sales, to our "private school". This is one area where Texas doesn't suck: private schools are completely unregulated by the state, and homeschooling is legally the same as private schooling.

I'm cheering on Dawn Lincoln in her candidacy, because this is a hot issue for her. Get the state out of private education!

Kevin