Haha, I remember the teachers' back-to-school letters always saying, "A plain three ring binder is all your child will need. Excessively large binders are only a distraction."

And then every kid shows up with the biggest, puffiest Trapper Keeper with all of these pockets and compartments and embossed shiny pictures of football players on them.

My 5th grade teacher specifically said she wouldn’t allow them in the class. She told parents she wanted us to have a plain blue binder (the one that was covered in blue fabric), some dividers and paper. She then proceeded to teach us something no there before or after spent time on: how to properly organize our work. You were awesome, Dr. Cross!