Most teachers would probably agree that grading their students’ work is the worst part of the job. With a plethora of assignments due every week in each course and hundreds of students across all of their class periods, every teacher can relate to feeling bogged down by the grading they have to do. However, this excessive workload can be made easier with the help of one thing: a pen. 

Although it may seem like a trivial part of the job, finding the perfect grading utensil is of vital importance. Such a discovery takes months, maybe even years, of experimentation with brands, colors and sizes. As daunting as this task may be, there are many teachers at LHS that have done so and now rely on a single model of pen for their daily grading tasks. Or, in one case, the perfect pencil.

James “Jaws” Jarovski: “I like the red Paper Mate Flair felt tip pen because it has a good cap for chewing.”

Amy Eckart: “I like the Paper Mate gel pens, with a 0.5 tip in blue or black, because they have a consistent ink flow, and the tip doesn’t catch on the paper.”

Steve Blankenship: “My favorite pen is the Pentel EnerGel because it has a fine tip and writes smoothly.”

Eric Rice: “I like a good fine point Sharpie.”

Ken Doyle: “The Pilot 0.7 pen is smooth, reliable and just always comes through.”

Roxanne Harte: “I have Paper Mate Flair felt tip pens in a bunch of colors because they write better and help me color-code my life.”

Bradley Newitt: “I buy the Paper Mate Write Bros because they are cheap and I want to waste as little of the taxpayer’s money as possible.”

Jared Jansen: “The Mirado Black Warrior is the absolute perfect pencil. First of all, it is circular instead of hexagonal. It has a matte black finish, which is visually appealing and pleasing to hold. It is not quick to dull, and the lead doesn’t snap like a mechanical pencil. Lastly, the eraser leaves little residue and completely removes pencil marks.”