Opinion: Are lockers really necessary?

You watch a school-related movie or TV show and see all the students going to their lockers after class has ended. They open their locker and see the inside all decorated as their friends walk up to them to say hi.

However, in the real world, you go to school and see that many people don’t go to their lockers; they just walk up to class and go with their friends. Their backpack is full with their stuff and then think, “do they not have a locker to put their stuff in?”

Thinking about that, are lockers really necessary to have in school?

My freshmen year, I used my locker for the first semester. I got tired of using it, so I started carrying everything in my backpack. It was better than having to struggle opening your locker. Most lockers are old and have been there since the school opened up. Since some students don’t use their lockers, they might become rusty and be difficult to open them. 

Students use their lockers when needed, whether it’s to put in their textbooks or extra supplies. But really, no one really need them.

An article by the Washington Post, stated, “The trend [of not using lockers] has expanded so rapidly and widely that schools are now removing individual student lockers from their hallways, and builders and designers for many new high schools don’t even include them in their plans.”

There are many reasons for why lockers are necessary or not. Textbooks are big and heavy, which is a reason why students might use their lockers.

Ms. Nagovan, RHS English teacher, stated, “I think so because the books are really heavy. You know, a lot of students are taking AP classes and that’s a lot of books to carry around.” Regardless of whether students are taking AP or Honors classes, the decision to use lockers mostly depends on the person themselves

“ I feel that lockers are a necessity for students because many students don’t want to have to carry around all their textbooks and binders,” said Sophomore Lucia Flores. “especially kids with AP classes who have to carry around a big book and many other things,” Flores continued. Having a lot on your back can start pain and it’s just too much to deal with.

For some students, they might not have a lot to carry, so they don’t need to worry about having to use a locker or carry anything in their hands. 

“With iPads loaded with electronic textbooks and other digital media, lockers might not seem necessary…,” wrote Classroom.com. Nowadays, assignments are now online and students would have less to carry in their backpacks. 

Ryan Nguyen, sophomore, stated, “Most of the lockers need replacements that makes lockers not usable. They also take up a lot of space in the school and most kids don’t use them because it takes up too much of their time to unlock the combination.” 

Not only do we have five minutes to get from one class to the next, using a locker would take up most of that time: going to your locker, unlocking it, and getting to your class, it’s a lot of work in just five minutes. Also, lockers are not big enough to hold all of our things at once.

Most schools should give students the choice of using a locker or not, or removing them if not many students use them. If they’re just going to sit there, might as well get rid of them so there’s more space for other things. In the end, lockers will be used for students’ necessities and vary on whether they need it or not.