I love these windows into the past. Student exercises also help preserve a lot of cuneiform writings as semi-standardized exercise texts can then be found in fragments all over Mesopotamia. Here's an example of such a thing from Sumeria around 4000 years ago, involving a kid being made to go to school, being late, being punished, and admonished to study diligently: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/408