In an effort to save money, TPTB decided not to buy the old faithful TICONDEROGA #2's and opted for pencils made in China. The problem is, the cheaper pencils will not sharpen!! Very often, the pencil looks like it has a nice point, but the graphite crumbles when pressure is put on it. Sometimes you can't get a point at all - the pencil sharpens unevenly and the contact point ends up being wood. Out of pure frustration, I've made three separate trips to STAPLES to buy TICONDEROGAS at $15.00/72 pcs., and it's only the end of the 1st quarter! I was very disappointed to learn that even they are made outside the USA (Mexico), but, fortunately, their standards are still high. I haven't had a problem with one yet. But $45.00 a quarter comes out to $180.00 for the year! And that's for something most of us just take for granted - a decent writing instrument. The folks at STAPLES are appalled that a teacher has to buy pencils out of his/her own pocket, but dealing with the cheap ones simply isn't worth the stress and aggravation.
At my last school I had to buy tons of pencils for my kids. If I didn't have them, they just wouldn't write. I don't understand why the pencils made in or outside of the USA matters...
I feel your pain,Teacherman! Not only do these cheap pencils not sharpen well, they clog electric sharpeners. Several years ago I made it my mission to buy only Dixons and Ticonderogas. You get what you pay for.
On our supply list, we specific the pencil brand we want students to buy. Parents really do send in the type of pencils that we ask for.
It's probably different for elementary, but I buy the Ticonderoga Golf Pencils for students who forget to bring a pencil. They're cheap, they come pre-sharpened, they are durable, and best of all they are a huge pain to use, so kids have an incentive to want to bring their own pencils.
I bought several boxes of Ticonderoga pencils this year and they shatter...the wood crumbles when they are sharp. I am so frustrated because I spent a fortune on them.
I'm actually kind of impressed your school bought any pencils. My district provides zero supplies. But I did make the mistake of buying Dixon pencils once. Never again. I couldn't even give them away to the kids. Ticonderoga all the way!
Is it possible that there are "counterfeit" Ticonderoga pencils out there? What is this world coming to? I think I've lost my faith in humanity...
I find that with the cheaper pencils, the lead breaks off in segments and fall on the floor. Students end up stepping on the pieces of lead and "write" all over the floor. I think pencils have definitely gotten cheaper over the years.
