A Place for My Stuff

Like slide rulers and chalkboards, the school locker is quickly becoming a relic of school days gone by. Safety concerns, noise issues, constantly forgotten combos and the occasional student prank may all have contributed to the decline of the metal storage closets in today's modern schools.

The problem is, students still have all that, well, stuff. (Turns out George Carlin was right.) And a backpack can only handle so much.

Case in point: At Seattle's newest high school, a $67 million redesign of Cleveland High did not include lockers. However, given the amount of sporting equipment, books and other supplies students must tote, the school is rethinking the lack of storage. According to an article in this week's Seattle Weekly, 500 new lockers will be brought in to help stem the tide of bad backs and lost items.

So, about all that stuff: Does your school still have lockers? Or if yours doesn't, how are you helping students manage their school stuff? Extra classroom storage? (Bigger backpacks?)

And, if you don't have lockers, has not having them cut down on related problems?