Back to School: Everything’s Changed Except the Trapper Keeper
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A blogumn by Emily Farrell
A few days before I started grad school, a friend at work gave me a present—a Trapper Keeper folder. And not just any Trapper Keeper, but a purple one (my favorite color). I’ve been slowly filling it with handouts and Web printouts from the three classes I’m taking this semester. But other than this binder and a spiral notebook for taking notes, I haven’t taken part in America’s traditional back-to-school shopping orgy.
I started thinking about being a kid and what it used to mean to go back to school—backpacks, pencils, lunchboxes, new clothes, book covers, and all the fun, brightly colored, themed products you could buy every year. That gave way to graphing calculators and 40-pound book bags in high school. In college it meant a plane ticket across the country, numerous trips to bring boxes out of storage in the basement, and the fun of decorating a new dorm room. I’ve always enjoyed those back-to-school rituals and the sense of anticipation that struck every August.
Starting grad school this year, however, didn’t seem to have any milestones that really screamed “back-to-school.” In high school we would be issued copies of the standard text books, which we then lugged back and forth to school every day. In college I loved the thrill of reading the course catalog, picking the perfect classes, and then fighting crowds at the bookstore to get all my texts.
This year, my course selection was limited not only by what was offered for my specific graduate degree but also the core classes I wanted to take first. I created an online schedule and registered for classes with a click of the mouse. With a few more clicks I found the required books and ordered them online (mainly through Amazon) and had them delivered to my home. I still haven’t set foot inside my campus bookstore.
Growing up I always had a true sense of “beginning” school every year—part ritual, part conspicuous consumption. Now I’m six weeks into the school year and am still almost stunned (glad, but stunned) that this is my life. At least I have a purple Trapper Keeper to keep me on track.
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oooo, trapper keepers….love them.
interesting. there’s a part of me that’s still trained to the “fall is a new beginning, buy a bunch of stuff!” schedule. every autumn i think about packing up and going somewhere new, just for the thrill of it.
oooo, trapper keepers….love them.
interesting. there’s a part of me that’s still trained to the “fall is a new beginning, buy a bunch of stuff!” schedule. every autumn i think about packing up and going somewhere new, just for the thrill of it.
I KNOW! Everything is so digi-matronic these days, no one just buys heaps and heaps of looseleaf for their Trapper Keeper! I remember looking at the Target ads on the Sunday before we went on our shopping day. The anticipation of what was out there boggled the mind.
PS- Now I have “Lost in Your Eyes” running on a loop in my brain. Thanks…… ; p
I KNOW! Everything is so digi-matronic these days, no one just buys heaps and heaps of looseleaf for their Trapper Keeper! I remember looking at the Target ads on the Sunday before we went on our shopping day. The anticipation of what was out there boggled the mind.
PS- Now I have “Lost in Your Eyes” running on a loop in my brain. Thanks…… ; p
Fall used to be my favorite season because of back to school shopping and the like, but that pretty much stopped at grad school, and summer has been in favor ever since. Though, at least I had the pleasure of searching for all of the plays that I had to read for school in used bookstores. Fond memories. And this blog actually made me want to read a play again.
Emily, what exactly are you keeping in your Trapper Keeper though if everything is digitized?
Great question, Ernessa! In some cases professors will have handouts in class or will publish short reading assignments online in Blackboard. I print them out to highlight/underline as I read, and also bring them to class for reference. Some professors publish online their PowerPoint lectures for class. I’ll also print them out so I can take notes directly on the slides, as opposed to frantically trying to write everything down. I don’t have a laptop, so pen and paper and Trapper Keeper is a winning combination for me. :) Two of my classes have open-note, open-book exams, so it’s great to have hard copies organized and accessible.
Great question, Ernessa! In some cases professors will have handouts in class or will publish short reading assignments online in Blackboard. I print them out to highlight/underline as I read, and also bring them to class for reference. Some professors publish online their PowerPoint lectures for class. I’ll also print them out so I can take notes directly on the slides, as opposed to frantically trying to write everything down. I don’t have a laptop, so pen and paper and Trapper Keeper is a winning combination for me. :) Two of my classes have open-note, open-book exams, so it’s great to have hard copies organized and accessible.
Great question, Ernessa! In some cases professors will have handouts in class or will publish short reading assignments online in Blackboard. I print them out to highlight/underline as I read, and also bring them to class for reference. Some professors publish online their PowerPoint lectures for class. I’ll also print them out so I can take notes directly on the slides, as opposed to frantically trying to write everything down. I don’t have a laptop, so pen and paper and Trapper Keeper is a winning combination for me. :) Two of my classes have open-note, open-book exams, so it’s great to have hard copies organized and accessible.
i got really excited when i saw the picture that accompanies this blog – i thought you were going to say your friend found a debbie gibson trapper keeper and i was going to be SO jealous. a purple one is nice too. also, i wanted to report that i miss decorating a dorm room a TON as well – so much fun! good luck with the semester!
i got really excited when i saw the picture that accompanies this blog – i thought you were going to say your friend found a debbie gibson trapper keeper and i was going to be SO jealous. a purple one is nice too. also, i wanted to report that i miss decorating a dorm room a TON as well – so much fun! good luck with the semester!
i got really excited when i saw the picture that accompanies this blog – i thought you were going to say your friend found a debbie gibson trapper keeper and i was going to be SO jealous. a purple one is nice too. also, i wanted to report that i miss decorating a dorm room a TON as well – so much fun! good luck with the semester!