Opus 2014-252:  The Parable of the Pencil Sharpener, Aka The Parable of the Pencil

“@#$% pencil”

“^&*☹ sharpener”

So begins the attempt of a student to sharpen a pencil in my classroom.  When I have the time and am feeling ornery I will go back to the pencil sharpener, take the pencil from the child, put it in the hole and sharpen the pencil in about two seconds.  They look at me in awe.  I then repeat my mantra, “Same pencil, same sharpener.  What is the difference?”

Years of experience, a thoughtful mind and determination make it possible for me to sharpen a pencil in what is an impossible situation.

Why do I say impossible?  Because the pencils are usually cheap and poorly made.  The lead is out of center.  The wood is gnarly and poor quality.  In addition to that the sharpener is getting dull and out of whack.  Can I still sharpen a pencil?  Usually, but to be honest, sometimes it is even beyond me.

How is this a parable?  It speaks to me of public education.  Anyone can sharpen a quality pencil in a good sharpener.  Well, almost anybody.  You can take a good pencil and usually get a point in a poor sharpener.  You can take a poor pencil and get results with a precision machine.  Public education continues to claim that you can take uncaring, unprepared students and put them in an overcrowded, trashy room, give them books written to amaze educators instead of interest young people and put an illiterate facilitator in front of them and turn out geniuses.

It doesn’t work that way. 

I often question if the gurus of education really want to produce informed, responsible citizens.  The reason I question this is that if we produced those kind of people, the gurus would all be fired.

Get the point?

homo unius libri