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I like writing with a pencil. Further, I will admit that, in general, I just like pencils. Remember being in first grade and learning how to write? I know that I felt so big because the teacher told us to put our crayons away and handed out brand new pencils.
There was something special about being allowed to use a pencil. I mean, a pencil needs to be sharpened. This meant that we all got to, one by one, march up to the pencil sharpener and take our turn making a fine point. And then we had to be careful not to poke ourselves (or another) with the pencil because the lead we just exposed like a piercing pin could be dangerous.
Before I could even worry about how to effectively write with my new instrument, I had to first learn how to handle my new little #2 weapon with care. In addition, back when I was in grade school, our desks came with a built-in pencil holder. This only further contributed to making the pencil the king of the school supplies.
The pencil reigned supreme for many of my grade school years. The requirement of sharpening made it interactive. Whenever I was stuck on a math problem, had trouble with remembering how to spell a vocabulary word or was simply bored, I delighted in being able to raise my hand to get up and sharpen my pencil. Teachers couldn’t say no to any sharpening requests because who were they to tell us how sharp we liked to use our pencil. I mean, the pencil point was, and still is, completely tailored to its user. Some like a dull pencil. Some like an ultra-sharp, pin-point pencil. I prefer my pencil sharp but not too sharp that it breaks when I press firmly.
Additionally, the built in eraser on a pencil allows for its user to think critically. Imagine if learning was accomplished without a backspace button? The expectation for perfection would feel overwhelming. For example, at the beginning of my math test, I may have thought that 3+4 equals 6 but by the end, I see that 4+3 equals 7. With my pencil, I can erase and change my wrong answer to the correct one. And if I didn’t erase perfectly, more than just getting the answer right, my teacher would know that I learned. What a wonderful concept.
In its essence, a simple pencil taught me how to be both creative and responsible. To this day, I can’t help but smile when I see a pack of regular pencils on the shelf. Ironically, they are still one of the least expensive school supplies you absolutely should buy. But make sure to buy the pack that needs sharpening…
Point. Point.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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