The Executive Summary - 8/9 - 8/13, by Ashton Merk (H-Business Associate Editor)

The Executive Summary - 8/9 - 8/13

For many people, this week marks the beginnings of "back to school" season: whether it's you in front of a classroom, as a teaching assistant, or student, or it's your children returning to classrooms in some form, "back to school" has its own set of rituals and meaning. However, if the internet is any guide, this particular back-to-school season has offered just about anything but that "new-Trapper-Keeper" feeling.

And for those of us who aren't engaged in work that respects an academic calendar, it's worth acknowledging that the absence of that back-to-school feeling can have its own effect. After years of defining our personality based on what notebooks and pencils we bought at the back-to-school sales, it can be jarring to realize that no, I don't have to register for classes this fall, or no, I don't have to prepare a syllabus. Yet old habits die hard, and the appeal of a fresh start in the middle of the year is hard to resist -- why else did I almost buy an academic-year planner last week?!?

To lighten the mood, here are some business-history-adjacent reads on 'back to school,' to ease you into the fall semester:

• Market research and the origins of the Trapper Keeper. (Mental Floss)
• Ever wonder where back-to-school sales came from? (Hagley Library)
• Unpacking the history of the backpack. (NPR)
• The history of the pencil. (British Library)

Also, for those of you who are putting together syllabi, this syllabus date generator is extremely helpful.

Send all comments, suggestions, leads, or ideas for this section to Associate Editor Ashton Merck.