Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Pencils and Why they Bug Me

Lately I've been really getting annoyed at how long it takes kids to choose and sharpen pencils.  It's about as long as it takes me to pick out something on Amazon.com.  It has to be the PERFECT one, in the right condition, and shipping from as few locations as possible.  Many of them also feel the need to choose erasers, since I purposely rip the ones off the back of my pencils due to latex allergies at our school. 



Erasers are my next biggest annoyance.  I used to buy the cool neon cap erasers, but those seem to somehow exit my classroom very quickly.  Then I tried the chunky colorful ones, and those exited the room even more quickly.  So I bought ugly gray erasers, and chopped them all in half.  Now the kids abuse them, and they look like rotten little teeth.  :(

 


I'll admit, when I was an elementary lass, many years ago, I used to be very OCD about my pencils, too.  They all had to be sharp all the time.  I never used the erasers on the back, because I wanted them to stay intact.  I would put a cap eraser on all my pencils.  Once they got sharpened too much, I stopped using them because my hand would get cramped.  There were certain pencils I saved in a zipper pouch and never sharpened:  glittery ones, Lisa Frank unicorns, scented ones, pencils from travel destinations, and some given as prizes for good behavior or 100% on a spelling test.  Yes, children, I feel your pencil pain.  However, when I see you for 45 minutes once every six days, you're going to have to get over your pencil issues.



 
 
 
Since I've introduced the sketchbooks, I've been having the kids write down their objectives for a lesson, and a few (less than a paragraph) notes about the topic.  So instead of me just rolling on into my speech about the lesson, and having the kids sit there listening, I have to wait 20 MINUTES for them to sharpen a pencil?  NO.  NO, I SAY!

This may sound like a simple solution, or maybe you think I'm crazy, but I am making the kids USE PENS.  Think about it: no sharpening, no erasers to pick out, no whining in the middle of my speech because theirs broke!  It's a beautiful thing.  Not only that, but while working in their sketchbooks, using a pen teaches them not to erase and worry about every little detail.  They have to try again or just let it go.  And today, the beauty of this theory was tested.  A teacher sent her students to my class with their own pencils, ready to go.

Y'all, it STILL TOOK THEM 15 MINUTES TO GET READY!  GAAAAH!

So, you know what?  I'm phasing out the pencils.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I could also be brilliant.  It's a possibility. 
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8 comments:

  1. ArtMuseSeptember 5, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    Lol, good luck! Kepp us posted on the progress of the pen! :)

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  2. NenaSeptember 5, 2012 at 8:15 PM

    I've always used pen to teach drawing in my class, pencils are rarely used, hence, I don't have pencil/ eraser issues :) The quality of the work is better too. Good luck.

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  3. JaciSeptember 6, 2012 at 8:35 AM

    I was shocked when I took over a KINDERGARTEN class and the teacher had started them off using pens for their Writers Workshop. Brilliant, for the same reasons you mention AND it caused them to focus on writing, not picking, erasing, etc. It wasn't until the last few weeks of school that I allowed them to use pencil in order to produce cleaner end products. I thought it was genius. Although... they all had to be the same color ink :).

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  4. AndreaSeptember 7, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    I feel your pain! There are a lot of pencils now that I just don't allow pencils. We only use pencils on projects if they are an ABSOLUTE necessity!

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  5. Missa KatieSeptember 7, 2012 at 3:10 PM

    Thanks y'all. I don't feel like I'm the crazy art nazi now!

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  6. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2012 at 3:03 PM

    I've used pen on my own sketches and find it works great. I haven't started it in my classroom yet, but might give it a try. The two things that bug me, in addition to the "disappearing erasers", are students who bring in mechanical pencils and students who purposely break the pencils in the basket so no one else has a sharp one to use. Sounds like we all have our stories to tell. Hang in there and have a great year! Cynthia

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  7. AnonymousMay 21, 2013 at 6:52 AM

    This is even encouraging as a homeschool parent. My kids do the same thing, there is only two of them. Guess it is in their DNA. Maybe I should look into some good pens or good felt tip markers. I don't feel so crazy now. The whole sharpening thing drives me nuts, or taking apart the mechanical pencils as well. Pens are looking better everyday. Thanks for the posts.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 23, 2014 at 7:59 AM

    I'm not an art teacher, but as a classroom teacher, I hate the constant getting up to sharpen pencils, or kids who lose their pencil and have to bother everyone around them for a spare. I seriously hate pencils. My solution is I have two cups: one for perfectly sharpened pencils, and one for broken pencils. At the beginning of the day, every student takes one sharpened pencil and uses it until he/she breaks the tip or misplaces it. Broken ones get placed in the other cup. Kids take turns having the job of sharpening the broken pencils at the end of the day and replacing them to the sharpened pencils cup. Yes, my inventory of pencils is greatly diminished over time, but it works great in eliminating the distraction of constantly hearing that pencil sharpener. Pens are great for spelling tests, writing assignments etc. but pencils are a must for math.

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