There are many pencil problems in classrooms today: the lack of pencils, misuse of pencils, students not having a pencil when they come to class, and pencils mysteriously disappearing, the same as one of your favorite socks not making it out of the dryer. Just recently I had this conversation with a group of middle school and high school teachers that felt that this was a pretty big deal. A big enough deal to come together to devise a “pencil problem plan” with specific consequences if their students dare to show up to class without a pencil. Some middle and high school teachers decided to take the student’s cell phone as collateral in exchange for a pencil. When the student returns the pencil they borrowed, they get their cell phone back. Some teachers simply refused to give students a pencil or told them to borrow one from a friend, not too concerned if they took notes the entire class period, while other teachers created a sign-in and sign-out system to ensure that the student returned the pencil. On one hand, some may think that these consequences are logical and teach both middle and high schoolers responsibility and on the other hand, some may think that this is a bit too harsh and extreme. As I was listening to these teachers determined to put an end to such pencil problems, I was envisioning the bigger problems students face and thought to myself, ‘Just give them a darn pencil.’ Here’s why.
What Ifs…
What if your students are dealing with much bigger problems at home? I’ve seen kids have much greater responsibilities. Some take care of their siblings before and after school. Some live with and/or take care of sick relatives. Some have parents who are going through a divorce or are divorced. Some worry about when their next meal will be. Some do not have electricity or hot water. Some are the adults in the house taking on some really serious burdens. Some don’t want to go home and may be victims of abuse.
What if your students are struggling socially? Some are victims of bullying. Some feel left out by peers at school or in their neighborhood. Some are scared to leave their house, walk or take the bus to school. Some are feeling isolated and sad. For some students the thought of going to school each day is painful.
What if your students struggle with emotional or behavioral disorders? Perhaps they feel sad or depressed. They may have confused thinking or the inability to concentrate. Some may have excessive worry about everything from small problems to big problems, to world problems. As a result, some may be feeling tired, have low energy or have difficulty sleeping.
The bottom line is that we are all fighting a battle, big or small, that no one knows about. So, think about your students before you act, get to know them, be kind and just give them a darn pencil. And perhaps someday the kids you always gave a pencil to will remember and will be the first to give their colleague a pen or pencil. Or worst-case scenario they’ll be sitting in a meeting whispering over to their colleague asking, “Hey, can I borrow a pencil?” 😉
Some Simple Pencil Solutions
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Have a place where students can return pencils. Dull pencils can be sharpened at the end of the day. Let your students do this. Sharpened pencils go to “pencil pickup” for the next day. I suggest that you don’t allow students to use the pencil sharpener during class, or allow a specific time for pencil sharpening during the 5 minutes of class. It’s a disruption and distraction because when one student sharpens a pencil, they ALL need to sharpen their pencil. If a student’s pencil point breaks, direct them to “pencil pickup.”
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What if you run out of pencils? When needed send home a request for pencil donations. You’d be surprised with just how many donations you will receive and some donations are better than none, right?!
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What if students are misusing and breaking pencils? Have a conference with the student and explain that a logical consequence would be that if they can’t use your class pencils in how they are expected to be used, then that student loses the privilege of using your class stash of pencils. I know this may sound silly to some, but I model and teach how to use a pencil and other simple classroom materials and tools at the beginning of each school year. Misusing and breaking class materials is not acceptable. See my Modeling Script: Classroom Materials.
So what are your thoughts and possible solutions for pencil problems?
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Christine Weis is a passionate educator, classroom management coach, wife, and mom of two busy boys. She enjoys teaching, writing, and creating resources for teachers.
I teach middle school. When a student does not have a pencil, they first ask a neighbor to lend them one. If that doesn’t solve it, they can borrow one from my pencil loan magnetic board. After class, they text parents that they need a pencil. When I just give them out, they don’t come back and the next day they don’t have a pencil again. This has worked very well.
Interesting post… I decided to just give the students pencils. Kind of like the government gives out freebies. I discovered that when I started giving pencils, without asking for anything in return, I found them broken all over the room. After leaving my classroom, students would throw them down the hallway to see who would be hit. The students also used them to play pencil break.
While I understand and agree with some of the things you say in your post, I do not agree with just giving out pencils to be used/discarded this way after class. It was VERY hard for me to watch my hard earned money be destroyed by people that did not care and, apparently, in no real need of a pencil.
Day after day after day I watched as the students asked/got a pencil at the beginning of class because they were free (only not to me). Younger students, yes, give them a pencil but by middle school, a student should bring their own supplies or put up collateral so there won’t be so much waste!
I totally agree with your post. I have had the exact same experience with misuse of pencils I’ve given to the same students with no pencil every day Yvonne
I teach HS math and never understood not having extra pencils. I will give them a pencil to take home if necessary. Some kids are so happy to have a pencil, they hide it the room so that they always get “their pencil.”
Also, you can get pencils really cheap if you search for misprinted pencils online. Quality pencils with typos or misprints of some type. Occasionally you get a really funny one.
Great tip about getting misprinted pencils online. I definitely will have to look into that and share it with other teachers. Thank you for being so kind and giving students pencils. I’m sure they appreciate it! Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts.
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
It is the way I’ve always felt!
I’m so glad! Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
I loved your perspective on this! They all have to learn.
Thank you! Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
This was really interesting! I think it can apply to all situations in life, we always have to think about what another person might be going through.
Yes…so true! Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Teachers are the backbone of the world. They need more pay and more resources.
Aww… thanks, Autumn! That means a lot! Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
while I am not a teacher, I can draw parallels to this situation just about anywhere else in life and I would definitely just ensure that I give them the pencil since we never know what else is happening in each person’s life
Agreed! Good point! Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Wow, I related to this post so much! When I was a student, keeping up with a pencil is hard work. What my teacher did was have students bring a pack of pencils to her classroom as extra credit, and when it came time for testing, she would use that batch for people to freely use.
Sounds like she did a community collection. Community supplies are definitely the way to go. Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Absolutely love this, and I can relate. My grade 3 Maths teacher screamed at me in front of the class when I lost her pencil 🙁 That time, I was completely miserable and afraid because I couldn’t understand word sums 🙁
Omgoodness.that’s awful. I’m sorry you experienced that. Perhaps not having the resources she needed stressed her out. Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Think the trade of their phones for a pencil is a great idea. It is sad that students do not have enough money for supplies.
It’s a strategy that works, especially in high school. It’s sad that schools don’t supply classrooms with supplies. Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Yes! I remember having teachers that would make a huge fuss if you didnt have a pen or something vital to the curriculum. They would make you feel bad when you were not prepared which only led to being scarred later on for all of us trying really hard not to show up to anything unprepared.
I’m sorry you were made to feel like that. I wish schools provided these supplies to students. It’s so stressful for teachers and students to not have the basic tools they need. Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
I couldn’t agree more — you never know what students are dealing with both before they come to school and once they return back home. Sometimes, something as small as lending them a pencil can make a world of a difference to even one student.
I agree! It’s the little things, right?! I’ve become much more mindful of the little things. Thanks for reading!
Christine at For The Love of Teachers