I love #2 pencils. I really do. It is a weird thing because wood makes my skin crawl. But a freshly sharpened #2 pencil is my favorite thing to draw/write with. To me nothing is better to relieve stress or frustration than drawing. Love the #2.

I have been surrounded by #2 pencils all day. In a negative way. What was the 1st thing you thought about when I said “#2 pencils,” it was a test wasn’t it? Yuck!

OK you are probably thinking that I am now going to hop on my “Why standardized tests suck” soap box, but I am not.  Ha!

I am sad this wonderful tool, the pencil, has such a negative stigma attached to it because of one of it’s uses.  Remind you of anything? Yes? No?

Did it make you think of the internet? Social media? Technology in general? Grades? Interactive White Boards? Students and cell phone? Or even text books?

What else did you did about?

So many of these things can and have been controversial in the education world. There can be bad and good in each. The problem is we take so much time harping on the bad we forget to look for the good. Find the good.

#2 pencils are not bad. They have just been given the bad name because one use. Now to focus on the good it can do!

**Yes I drew the picture with a #2 pencil this week. The picture is of the Sand Island Lighthouse off Dauphin Island, AL.**