Organizing Students - Avoid Being Checkmated by Notebook Checks

by Kayla Fay

I'm not sure there is anything worse for our kids than the dreaded
notebook check. In case you're not familiar with them, brace
yourselves.
They're headed your way. Many teachers, starting in Middle School but
especially in High School, require kids to keep all papers associated
with their class in an organized notebook. There are usually sections
for warm-ups (the work kids do as they enter class), homework, tests
and
quizzes, classroom notes, and classwork. At an announced - or
un-announced - time, the children are supposed to show their neat and
orderly file of papers to the teacher. For a grade.

Yeah, right. When he was in 9th grade, our son Ron's Geometry teacher
told me she had never seen a notebook like the one my oldest child
presented. Actually, he gave her two floppy binders full of papers. All
kinds of papers. She laughed about it, and graciously helped him to
sort
out his mess, but she's an exceptional teacher. Most teachers, and some
parents (like me, I must admit) cannot understand the difficulty
involved in finishing a paper and immediately filing it. After many
years of nagging, I realize that it just isn't that easy.

So what is the answer? There's not a perfect one, but here are some
suggestions to help your child not feel checkmated by a notebook check.

SET UP ~ First off, a notebook should be organized correctly, and
you'll
probably have to do this for your child. Don't use a cheap 77 cent
binder, which tend to have fatal gaps in the rings. Invest in a more
expensive model; we prefer the thin, floppy folders. If a spiral
notebook is also used in the class, I make sure they are the same
color.
Black for Biology (dead things). Green for Algebra (money).

DIVISION ~ Inside the notebook, I put heavy duty section binders,
labeled as the teacher requires. I also add a pocket folder, which is
useful for when I say "This is your homework for tomorrow that you've
worked on for two hours. DON'T forget to turn it in!" It's ideal for
homework worksheets and notes to come home in this folder, but we have
to be realistic. In my house it rarely happens.

PRE-LABELING ~ Sometimes it helps to pre-label the pages in your
child's
notebook. In the warm-up section, for example, put in a stack of dated
pages - one for each warm-up. Or, if the assignments are numbered, go
ahead and put numbers on the pages. (If you can convince your teacher
to
let you use a different color paper in each section, you're even better
off.)

EXEMPTION ~ Quite frankly, I think the best solution is to exempt some
children from the notebook check ordeal, whether through a teacher's
kindness, an IEP or a 504. Learning to file isn't really that inherent
to learning. Of course, thousands of teachers across America vehemently
disagree with me.

DOING IT FOR THEM ~ Each day, go through your kid's bookbag and
notebooks (and schoolbooks and pants pockets) and file everything where
it belongs. It takes about 10 minutes per day, but saves hours of
frustration. I email teachers for a list of items they expect in the
notebook. Some teachers post assignments on websites, others post them
in the classroom. All of these can help your child to at least get a
passing notebook check grade.

BUDDY SYSTEM ~ Drew's mother told me of her son's distress before a
scheduled notebook check, and I encouraged her to contact the teacher.
The teacher's response was to allow the entire class time to work
together to assemble their notebooks. Working with a partner saved
Drew's skin. If your child's teacher doesn't give this option, try to
find another child in the class that will help your child.

GIVING NOTICE ~ If your child's teacher is the random check kind,
appeal
to him to let you know a day or so before the check takes place.

Probably the most difficult thing about notebook checks is that
ordinarily, the maintenance takes place at the beginning and the end of
class. These are the noisiest, busiest, most distracting times of the
class period. Add a double dose of inattentiveness and you have to
understand our ADHD son Joe's heartfelt lament. "Mom, you don't
understand, it just isn't that easy."

It's not easy, and we've failed a few, passed a few, and (wonder of
wonders) gotten A's on a very few. But with a lot of assistance and
even
more patience, life will not end with the notebook check. But high
school will, and when the kids get big, they can hire a secretary to do
their filing!

Kayla Fay is the mother of four organizationally challenged sons, and
is
the publisher of "Who Put the Ketchup in the Medicine Cabinet?" She and
the boys have produced The PAC-kit, a unique planner designed
especially
for kids. Learn more at http://www.goaskmom.com/planner.