Lockers are a staple of American high schools. They are one of the first things that come to mind when picturing the crowded hallways of a school. Lockers have been used for decades upon decades as hangouts, bulletin boards and, of course, school book storage.
While lockers have been a useful tool for a long time, their time might now be coming to an end. Many new schools are being built with less lockers than students, or even without lockers entirely.
This change of heart surrounding lockers has mostly been driven by a decrease in need for lockers. Students used to use them to store books and materials for classes. Nowadays, most students prefer to carry all their materials with them the entire day in a backpack.
It is common to see students using backpacks to carry all of their materials to school, to every class, and back home again. Bypassing the locker eliminates the chance of forgetting a homework assignment or book at school.
“I don’t like using my locker because it is out of the way and annoying to walk to in the middle of the school day, and I might also forget stuff in my locker that I need for a class or at home,” said PV freshman Jonah Whitson.
Part of this is because there are fewer materials for students to carry. Online resources are replacing classic textbooks and hardcopy resources. Many students only need their single school issued chromebook to complete work for all their classes.
Another reason students don’t use lockers is time. With schools growing larger, it takes longer to walk across a building during short passing periods. It is simply impractical to stop at a locker every passing period.
“I don’t like how short the passing period is because the school is really big and it is hard to walk across it in just five minutes,” said PV junior Henry Allers.
Removing lockers from schools might also come with many benefits. Lockers take up lots of space that could otherwise be used for wider hallways or larger classrooms. They also take up lots of wall real estate that could be used for art projects, posters, bulletins boards, and more.
