6 New, Epic Items Gen X’rs Needed For Back To School
Michigan's families have enjoyed the beautiful summer so far. Summer's fly by way too fast and it's time to start thinking about kids going back to school. Back to school "lists" have changed over time. Did you grow up in a time when the "Trapper Keeper" was a want or necessity?
I grew up in a home that didn't have a lot of expendable income. When it came to getting new shoes for school I got the store brand shoes. When it came to notebooks I got a spiral notebook. When it came to folders I got a simple pocket folder. These, along with some additional items, were the basic needs for my generation when we went back to school.
I remember in high school when it was required to have a graphing calculator, I graduated in 1992. New technology was starting to sneak into our schools way back then. With the evolvement of technology, our back to school lists have changed. Kids in schools have tablets now that they learn on, although it's not the way I was taught, it works well and my 10 year old and 14 year old sons are learning what they need to be.
I want to take a look back at the items my generation needed when we went back to school. I also want to discuss the social side of the items that we bought before going back to school. Let's step back in time and relive a little of our past, maybe rekindle some memories of your favorite or least favorite teachers and experiences growing up.
6 Items WE Needed For Back To School
Mechnical Pencil
I don't think it was because I was lazy to sharpen my pencil. When I was a kid these were the "new thing". Yeah, we got excited over pencils we didn't have to get up and sharpen.
New Shoes
I used to get excited to go shoe shopping. As I mentioned, I got the store brand shoes like MTA Pro or Traxx at Kmart. Unfortunately we couldn't afford the Nike brand. I can recall the anxiety it caused me not having name brand shoes.
New Backpack
I used my school bag for years at a time. The one I used in second grade was the one I used in first grade and in third grade. Getting that new backpack seemed to give you an identitiy when we were kids.
Pencil Box
Of course we didn't have wood pencil boxes, but we did have cardboard or plastic. Back in the day I wold use my grandpa's old cigar box. Times have changed.
Trapper Keeper
The Trapper Keeper was something each kid wanted. It was a convenient place to store all of your folders, pencils and erasers. Looking back, it seems like the "popular" kids had these.
Lunchbox
Getting a new lunchbox was always someting fun to look forward to. I had a "brown bag" for a few years. Then came my first lunchbox that included a thermos. It was a Pac Man lunchbox.
While writing this, I enjoyed my stroll down memory lane until I realized the things I wanted for back to school were more for social status and trying to be cool rather than the practical, intended use. Thankfully as I near 50 years old this isn't a factor anymore.