The Perfect Pencil

When your students arrive in your classroom this fall, they will bring with them a variety of school supplies with pencils being one of the most basic but crucial tools. But, unfortuately, as teachers know, all pencils are NOT created equal.

I sigh when I see a fancy colored pencil.  I know it will be a nightmare to sharpen.  It may even have a plastic coating which peels off during the sharpening process thus ruining the pencil (in the child's eyes, at least).

Many kids bring pencils which advertise different groups and companies.  Some of these are okay. There's no way of knowing.  I have found that a lot of these pencils have defective erasers which smear rather than erase when used.

Miscellaneous brands of No. 2 pencils are what most commonly arrive in backpacks in the fall. These are a crapshoot, but you often have to take what you can get.  They may be easily sharpened initially but attempts to re-sharpen them to a good point are futile.

If you're lucky, all your students will show up with packs of Faber-Castell, Ticonderoga or USA Gold pencils. These are quality pencils and are easily sharpened and re-sharpened.  If you're really lucky, all the packs of pencils will be pre-sharpened!

Put these brand names on your supply list for next year.  You'll be glad you did!

A 30-pack of sharpened Ticonderoga pencils is available from Amazon for $5.70.

https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pre-Sharpened-13830/dp/B006CSPZK4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AUMT59E26H6K&keywords=ticonderoga+presharpened+pencils&qid=1563765619&s=gateway&sprefix=ticonderoga+pre%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1