I've been using pencil crayons and pencils all my life. And as a side effect, I've been using pencil sharpeners all my life as well. Up until now, I always thought I was using them correctly. I was completely oblivious to how little I knew ... As you can see above, this is a standard dual size pencil sharpener. The smaller one for pencils, the larger one for large coloured pencils or crayons. Right?
Wrong! After breaking countless pencils trying to sharpen them (the lead always falls right out after you're finished) and even worse, was trying to sharpen pencil crayons, where the entire coloured lead filling was basically shattered, I was getting really frustrated. That's when some of my students pointed out that I should be using the larger hole to sharpen pencils. I corrected them and said no, that's for larger pencils and crayons... Because I know better, right? Well actually, I decided to try, and I was 100% wrong and talking without any real experience. The larger hole forces the pencil in at a different angle, creating a not uniform sharpening experience, little weird turning it, but the result is that the angle is so much wider, that the lead and wood are much much stronger. It almost never breaks now! It's like I entered a secret world where things finally make sense, despite still feeling a little off. Those grade 4's and 5's really know their stuff, and I look forward to listening to them more this coming year. I have a lot to learn.
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