Picking out a backpack can be exciting—and overwhelming! They come in a rainbow of colors, many materials, and oodles of styles.
But this tool to haul textbooks and binders is a relatively new school supply. Backpacks for students didn’t catch on until the 1980s. Students used to carry books in their hands or use a strap wrapped around them like a belt. The more stuff kids had to carry, the more necessary the bags became—and the heavier they became too.
Students at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville, Georgia, have an extra requirement: Their backpacks must be made of clear plastic. That way, school staff can see what’s inside. It’s a school safety rule, but not all students are thrilled with it. “Plastic backpacks feel clunky, rip easily, and are annoying to use,” says a student in Tracy Matthew’s seventh-grade math class.
Sequoyah isn’t the only school requiring clear backpacks. Similar rules exist in schools in Indiana, Texas, Florida, and more. And some school districts have banned backpacks entirely!
But backpacks have their fans too. “My backpack holds my school supplies and keeps them safe,” says seventh-grader Eduar Morales-Perez. “Backpacks are portable, they’re spacious, and they have pockets for everything.”