Old Homework Papers

What do you do with old homework papers? During the school year my boys pile up their old homework papers in a cabinet. By the end of the school year these piles are usually around 12 inches high. Then they take one day during the summer to sort through these papers. But, they always moan and complain when I ask them to do this.

I ask them to save anything that was meaningful to them as they sort through the huge stack. They usually end up with some small assortment of writing samples, artwork, tests/assignments that got high grades, cards from friends and teachers, etc. Their piles of papers reduce down to about 2-3 inches high, small enough to put into a 3-ring binder. They now have a collection of 3-ring binders, one from each school year, sitting on the shelves in our family room.

Every once in a while they look through these binders. I ask them what they think. Are they proud of any of their work? Did they enjoy any of these assignments? Did they learn a lot from all this work?Their answers are usually negative. “I hated doing this assignment.” “Look at this big packet and I don’t even remember any of it.” “I want to burn this!” “What a waste.” “I worked so hard and she only gave me a C on this.” Etc… Occasionally they are proud of their work (like projects, or artwork, or an assignment they got a high grade on) and remember it fondly.

Why do I ask them to make these homework binders? I am a huge fan of portfolios and the schools my boys have attended don’t really use them. So, this is my version of their school portfolio for each year – a binder with self-selected works in it that shows effort, participation, improvement and, hopefully, some learning.

The other reason I have them do this is that it helps my youngest if he struggles with certain subjects. He can go to his older brother’s binder, and look up his work, tests, or papers and get ideas to help him get through the subject when he takes it. Often, if they have had the same teacher, the tests will be identical and he’ll be able to study from them. I don’t consider this cheating. I consider it making the best of a bad situation. If a teacher gives the same test year after year, in my opinion, she isn't putting forth her best effort and is most likely uninspired. That is a shame.

In my ideal world, students would not bring home piles of homework papers they want to throw away, but instead would bring home, at the end of the school year, their own student-made textbooks and/or portfolios, ready-made to display proudly on the family room bookshelf. And these books would have been made during class time, NOT during family time after school or on weekends.