School bags are helpful for organizing kids, but make sure that you lay out a set of ground rules for what goes into your kids' school bags. Tech gadgets for tweens, teens, and younger students, are very popular, but taking them to school is asking for trouble. I remember the frustration of a soccer mom, bemoaning the fact that her son took his new iPod to school, and ended up losing it. As a teacher, I confiscated distracting items, but the student who brings a small tech gadget to school is in danger of damaging the item, or in jeopardy of having their electronic item stolen.
iPads are popular with tweens and teens, as are iPods and cell phones. Video game systems are small enough to easily sneak into a school bag. If the item belongs to your student, a common sense chat about the consequences of taking such items out of the house will place responsibility in the hands of your child.
