It’s back to school time!
Surely, you’ve noticed.
Parents and caregivers navigate the seasonal aisles of their favorite department store, list in hand, squinting at packages as they try to find the proper-sized ruled paper and colored binders.
Teachers elbow out other customers as they overload their shopping carts with composition books, multi-packs of scissors, glue sticks, pocket folders, and erasers.
Some thoughtful educators also supply their kiddos with little extras that save time and classroom commotion every day. One elementary teacher friend buys her kids lip balm to keep in the fully loaded pencil pouches she provides and hangs on the edge of each student’s desk. “You know they’re going to need it,” she says. “Why wouldn’t they? I use mine all day.” Having it handy also eliminates wasted learning time and disruptions going to the nurse “for a Q Tip with Vaseline that just ends up everywhere,” she says. Makes sense.
In the not-so-distant past before Amazon July Prime Day, I was part of a selective group of teacher friends who texted each other, sharing where great deals could be had. It was highly classified info! One year armed with advance notice, I hit Target, Rural King, Wal-Mart, Meijer, Staples, and even Harbor Freight picking up classroom must-haves on the first day of their sales before their stock was depleted. It felt like Christmas 1986 hunting for a Cabbage Patch Kid!
Certainly, back-to-school time can be expensive for teachers, as they thoughtfully assemble supplies and outfit their classrooms to motivate a fresh, new group of students. Personal laminators and stacks of sticky notes and poster paper have almost become must-haves for a well-run classroom. Some teachers even create Amazon wish lists to make their environments appealing and their daily pedagogical practices affordable.
You really do get what you pay for
And even though I was tempted by the lower prices of some off-brand products in my day, I learned to steer clear.
One school corporation where I worked required that we make our slim “consumable budget” purchases from a list of products from a purchasing co-op. Invariably, I requested the brand name markers in the spring but ended up with a plain white box of the off-brand ones on my desk in August.
Small things do matter. There was little more irritating in the classroom than to have the cheap marker ink smear or shadow every time I wrote and erased on the board. Constantly using a specially purchased cleaner and a filthy rag to wipe off the board between discussion or lesson points may seem like a petty complaint. But, like the lip balm, it was always a distraction and a time waster. And what student wants to use a smeared, discolored individual marker board? None. Right!
No, buying the real deal (read EXPO, in this case) paid off every single day. They also came in more color varieties, a sure way to engage students with choice.
Today, when I’m facilitating a grant-funded workshop or paying out-of-pocket for supplies, I always go for top quality. They last and perform.
My biggest classroom prejudice
I will confess: I’m a Ticonderoga pencil snob.
When my kids were young, I was often tempted by the multi-packs of seasonal pencils. You know the ones: they have witches or bunnies or snowman prints, depending on the time of year. Packages of six or eight pencils with cute or fun designs from a dollar store became part of a cheap bag of party favors. I even gave them out at school as prizes for classroom competitions.
But I quickly learned that even at a buck a pack, they were nothing I wanted to use. The cute bunny plastic peeled off the shaft, I had to grind down an inch of the pencil to get it to sharpen evenly, and a circus peanut erased better than they did. I shrugged apologetically each time I emptied my stockpile of classroom prizes, but the students didn’t seem to mind.
And then I met the “Condies.” Dixon Ticonderoga pencils, officially. Their bright yellow barrels and nearly fluorescent lettering, combined with their green-striped metal ferrules have become the iconic image of the American pencil since 1913. It’s not a surprise. Although the design has changed over the years, the company’s history began in 1812!
It’s a bold claim, but I agree. As printed on each box, Condies are “the world’s best pencil!” They sharpen easily and evenly, their erasures are complete without having to scrub on the paper, and their smooth lead brings me joy. I never have the graphite catch or stumble, interrupting my flow of ideas.
Now that I have met the Condies, I’m afraid I sneer at other pencils. I feel as if I can’t write without the smooth hexagon of a Condie in my hand.
To top off the excellence of their products, this summer, I learned about Dixon Ticonderoga company’s June campaign to support underserved schools from social media posts that included #postsforpencils. Very generous!
The company also has a hip inspirational video challenging students to consider how they will use the 45,000 words that a typical Condie will write.
Ticonderoga is not only a cool pencil, but a cool company, too!
So do a teacher a favor!
Pick up a multi-pack of Condies as a back-to-school gift for a new or favorite educator. They come in several colors and styles and even shorter, thicker sizes for beginners. The black ones have an understated hipster vibe, but Condies are also available in fashion colors! Alternatively, the company has a recycled wood version for eco-friendly writers.
Whether Condies are on the teacher’s wish list or not, they’re sure to be a school supply that will be used and appreciated by the whole class!
What will Condies help you inspire a young person to write?
