Pen Donations?

[WirsPlm]

Papamud, some questions about what you would prefer:

 

1) I have 3 journals I got on sale that I'm not going to use, they're about 8 in high x 5.5 in wide. Would those be useful for your students, or do you just want regular-sized notebooks?

 

2) Any specific requests for ink or pens, like smaller/larger nibs or a specific ink color or something?

 

3) I have a variety of Pilot pens that I don't need, but they use Pilot's filling system not the international standard one if that's an issue. I can send converters with them.

 

3) Also, I have some italic pens that I could send along if any of your students is interested in calligraphy? Pilot Plumix and a Sheaffer beginner italic pen with a full set of nibs. I've used a Plumix and the smallest Sheaffer italic for general writing, but wanted to check if you have someone who would want a non-standard nib.

 

I think you're a very dedicated teacher and appreciate all the work you're doing educating students and spreading the hobby of fountain pens!

[Papamud]

Papamud, some questions about what you would prefer:

 

1) I have 3 journals I got on sale that I'm not going to use, they're about 8 in high x 5.5 in wide. Would those be useful for your students, or do you just want regular-sized notebooks?

 

2) Any specific requests for ink or pens, like smaller/larger nibs or a specific ink color or something?

 

3) I have a variety of Pilot pens that I don't need, but they use Pilot's filling system not the international standard one if that's an issue. I can send converters with them.

 

3) Also, I have some italic pens that I could send along if any of your students is interested in calligraphy? Pilot Plumix and a Sheaffer beginner italic pen with a full set of nibs. I've used a Plumix and the smallest Sheaffer italic for general writing, but wanted to check if you have someone who would want a non-standard nib.

 

I think you're a very dedicated teacher and appreciate all the work you're doing educating students and spreading the hobby of fountain pens!

Hi!

 

Wow! Such a lovely offer! If you're not going to use the notebooks, I know I have students who would love them!

 

For specific requests, I really don't have any. I'm good with bottled ink for the moment... maybe some JinHao compatible cartridges?

 

I actually do have two students who are working on calligraphy and on their handwriting. They'd love an italics pen, if you're sure?

 

For the Pilots, the fill system is just the squeeze kind, right? That I can handle!

 

Many MANY thanks again for your kindness.

 

D

[Papamud]

Hi all!

So, in my previous professional life, I was a singer/songwriter. I have a couple of copies of my last CD that I'd like to send as Thank You gifts to anyone on the board who likes music!

It's very singer/songwritery stuff, and we did fairly well when we released it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give back to this awesome community, so if you like, just PM your address and let me know you'd like a CD and I'll happily send one!

All the best,
D.

[j-e-g]

One does a kindness... purely for kindness sake.

Nothing owed, nothing expected.

 

Your offer shows your appreciation.

 

However, with all the time you have spent sharing the student experiences and photos with FPN members, it is clear how much you and the students appreciate it.

 

j-e-g

[Shaughn]

Once, a monk asked: “What is the meaning of PIF?”

 

Lao Tze answered: “If everyone who gets his back scratched, scratches two other backs, we’ll soon all have our backs scratched.”

 

[WirsPlm]

Hi!

 

Wow! Such a lovely offer! If you're not going to use the notebooks, I know I have students who would love them!

 

For specific requests, I really don't have any. I'm good with bottled ink for the moment... maybe some JinHao compatible cartridges?

 

I actually do have two students who are working on calligraphy and on their handwriting. They'd love an italics pen, if you're sure?

 

For the Pilots, the fill system is just the squeeze kind, right? That I can handle!

 

Many MANY thanks again for your kindness.

 

D

Great! I'll send off a package next week after Mother's Day.

 

I seem to have misplaced some of my pens (6 months since I last moved and yet still I can't find things apparently!) so I may only be able to send the journals and the Sheaffer italic, I'll let you know exactly what's coming when I PM for your address this weekend.

[grilledcheese]

I'd like to echo the sentiments of many above -- I gave because when I was a kid without two nickels to rub together, my teachers were kind to me, and looked out for me in more than purely academic ways, nurturing me as a human being and not just a set of test scores. I've thanked as many as I could find in person, and sending something along to an unknown child who could've been me can be seen as a selfish act, if the idea of simply being kind to others is too repugnant to anybody.

[Papamud]

Grilled Cheese,

 

Thank you so much. I also was one of those kids and I did not get much encouragement. I think this is why I became a teacher... to try to rescue my own school years by trying to rescue kids like you and I.

 

To that end, I created a Teacher's Choice Award for General Awesomeness. These kids are getting FP's or Journals and I think it's a great way to recognise one of the "middle kids..."

 

So, if you check out the next post, I'm listing the Quarter 3 winners!

Thanks again for your wonderful sentiments!
D

[Papamud]

Hello!

I’d like to apologize for taking so long getting these up! I had gall bladder surgery right after Spring Break and then returned to complete chaos in my classroom because my sub chose to show movies every day for the two weeks that I was out, instead of teaching the lessons I’d asked her to teach.

 

Because of the wonderful generosity of everyone on this forum I've expanded the awards to encompass a Teacher’s Choice Award for General Awesomeness so that I can reward those kids who are “in the middle.” These are the kids that come to school and work hard every day, and they never get any attention because the Straight A kids and the Straight E kids suck all the air out of the room.

 

So, our 3^rd Quarter Pen Winners are;

 

Period 1, B Day

 

Brandon W. for Best Overall Grade (and Genuine Awesomeness).

Brandon has various challenges and works really hard in class every day to do the best that he can. He’s actually a killer as a writer, and he understands far more than other teachers think. He’s extremely intuitive and only lost out to winning a pen in the 2^nd Quarter by a few points. He won a Pilot Metro with extra cartridges.

 

Tre’Vonn L. won a Pilot Metro for Best Essay. Tre’Vonn hates school, hates teachers, hates his life, and let all that hate flow into his 3^rd Quarter Final Essay. I encouraged him to be, for once, entirely honest in his essay, which was about the Minority Struggle in America. He started his essay with the N-Word in describing an encounter on his own front porch with a Police Officer who had been called to his house because a neighbor had heard Tre’Vonn’s mother’s boyfriend abusing Tre’Vonn. It was one of the most powerful essays I’ve ever read. His other teachers have told me he’s writing everything with his Metro. They can tell because he’s using the Diamine Red Dragon ink that I shared with him.

 

David D. won a Jinhao 750 for Most Improved Grade because he actually started showing up for class and doing his work. That’s all it took.

 

Austin B. got a Teacher’s Choice Award for General Awesomeness Jinhao for being generally awesome in class. He’s always here, always works hard, always has an answer when asked. He’s just a good kid who falls in the middle of the pack somewhere everytime, so he tends to be ignored because the “bad” kids and the “good” kids get all the attention. He also just won MVP for his Lacrosse skills!

.

Benjamin D. gets a Shaeffer-style pen because he’s just generally awesome and is going into the military the week after he graduates (in two weeks). He gets the “Service To Your Country” award. Incredible kid.

 

Period 3, B Day

 

Deven F. won a pen whose maker I couldn’t ID, but was a super cool, brushed silver thing that writes like a dream. He won Teacher’s Choice for General Awesomeness.

 

Ivan I. won Best Essay because his personal account of his family history in America was powerful and extremely well-written. In his conclusion, he wrote the line, “I’ve decided that, in life, the less certain you are, the more mature you are,” which I think is probably a pretty valuable observation and probably true at least 50% of the time.

 

Best Grade went to Ian C. whose extra efforts garnered him a 106%. He won a Pilot Metro. He lives in an exceedingly difficult home situation, and is determined to make college his way out. He’s a shoe-in academically, and it’s nice, for once, to not worry about a student’s future.

 

Most Improved Grade went to Bernice O. who started weak (uncharacteristically) and ended strong. It might have had something to do with her awesome haircut, but most likely she saw her grade, got scared, and turned up the volume on her academics and made it happen. She won a gorgeous pen with faux diamonds around the cap.

 

Period 4, B Day

 

Santoshi S. is from Nepal. She works really hard, and has not let the language barrier be a barrier to getting a 103% in English. She’s just flat-out incredible. She won another nameless pen (please pardon me if I don’t recognize some pens. If it doesn’t say the manufacturer and model number, I’m not well-versed enough to know). It was a gorgeous writer and she loves it!

 

Shamar R. won Best Essay, and a Pilot Metro for his trouble. He wrote a great essay about being in ROTC and his desire to move into the Air Force when he graduates. He’s one of those amazing kids who can tell when I’m having a hard day and tries to say something to cheer me up. I once went to a meeting after school and came back to my classroom and found a post-it note from his saying, “Thanks for being such a great teacher!” It was pretty wonderful.

 

Mykell C. won Most Improved because he doesn’t want to fail so he knows he has to get a D or better in Quarters 3 and 4. I wish I could report better, but he’s a challenging kid who just hates being here and whom I cannot seem to catch. I’ve had him every year for the last 3 years and I just cannot seem to reach him… Hoping a FP win might help… Jury is still out…

I'll list my A day student winners tomorrow.

On behalf of my students, I'd like to say THANK you to everyone here. Your generosity has been so wonderful and I want everyone here to look in the mirror and know that you can see someone who is flat-out inspiring students who are short on inspiring adults. I'd also like to say thank you because it's so much fun to be able to award these pens to students who try to look too cool to care about winning something so "nerdy" but who, when they win, are clearly pleased and happy that it breaks my goddamned heart every time. Pardon my language.

Thank you,
David

[elenita]

David, thank you so much for sharing these kids' stories. I'm so glad that you and other generous FPNers have been able to encourage these students, especially those from really difficult circumstances.

 

You mention in your last post that graduation is coming up soon. Is there still time to send something for Q4?

Edited May 18, 2017 by Elenita

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for sharing these student's achievements with us. I applaud you for encouraging them & am grateful for your taking the time to report on these student's & their stories. I believe you are doing far greater work than you realise; these students are learning & will make the world a better place. Thank you for your service.

[Shaughn]

my goddamned heart every time. Pardon my language.

 

Thank you,

David

 

For goddamned, read blessed. Pardon granted

[purplepen]

papamud - no matter how you put it, thank you for all you do and for sharing it with us.

[JLohmann]

David,

Great idea! I tried something similar giving a pilot varsity to my college students who got a 100% on an exam. A pen store retailer gave me a good deal on a bulk buy. I assume you still have a need for next year's students?

[Papamud]

JLohman, I always have a need for next year's students, but I am conducting an inventory as we speak, and between everyone's generosity here, and the pens and ink I've purchased, I'm definitely good to go for this year!

 

I have to admit that this is just so much fun!

 

Thank you again!

 

D.

[Shaughn]

Hello!

[...]

I'll list my A day student winners tomorrow.

 

[...]

 

Thank you,

David

 

There have been a few tomorrows since, David. Are you OK and in good health? Does anyone know?

[goodpens]

Papamud,

I have been out of this thread for some time and I am foggy on the specifics of what you can use.

I bought 3 fun pens that I thought I'd pass along to friends as gifts. Unfortunately, they don't use int'l cartridges, as I'd thought, which goofs up my plan. They have converters and use bottled ink *only*. They have very smooth fine nibs. If your students would use converter pens, I'd pass these to you. Please let me know and I'd forward them to you. (2 are brand new. The 3rd has been inked once, when I gave it a test run; I was pleasantly surprised by how well it wrote, it has nicely balanced weight when posted, and was a slim, but comfortable, pen to use.)

Edited June 11, 2017 by goodpens

[Papamud]

Hi all!

So, it's the end of the year and I've been mired in grading, entering grades, grading last-minute panic work from students, admin stuff, end of year checklists, and a supervisor from hell... Anyway... In no particular order, our pen winners for Quarter 3 and 4 are...

 

Also, all pen winners got multiple ink cartridges for summer!

 

9th Grade

 

Simone G. The quietest student in the world who stepped up and delivered Juliet's "A rose by any other name" speech beautifully! She tore it up. Pathos, ennui, desperation... she was great!

 

Tabitha - a pen with faux diamonds around the cap, and a second journal since she filled the Black 'n' Red that Mary sent. She's not an easy kid, but only because her home life isn't easy and she has too much energy to sit still. She wants to be a writer and actually does write a lot!

 

Jesse - Works hard, sarcastic, funny, unafraid to ask questions... the kid's a winner and is crazy smart. He won a Pilot Metro and a bottle of Quink to go with it.

 

Brashae - because she is so on the edge of giving up on school. She's so smart and is making crappy choices in her life. I don't expect a fountain pen to change anything, but am hoping that the recognition paired with a Luoshi and a vial of cool-ass ink might be a start?

 

Robert C. To look at, you'd never guess the kid speaks 4 languages, and he acts so goofy all the time that some teachers may be fooled into thinking he's not bright. He is. Bright enough to win a fountain pen for best grade. Pilot Metro!

 

J Walker. That quiet kid in the middle who rocks every grade? That's Ms. Walker. She recited the Friar's speech deriding Romeo for falling in love with a new girl every ten minutes so funnily that she made me laugh out loud. She got a Jinhao with a box of cartridges.

 

Domebi came to my class in 4th quarter and immediately started killing it. She loves Shakespeare and you could tell it in her work. She got the highest grade from day one, which peeved off my honors kids, because they're pretty competitive when it comes to grades. She won a Noodler's plus a couple of vials of fancy-assed ink that had sparkly stuff in it. She loved it.

 

11th grade

 

Kristin R. always has such great answers, and she's so unassuming. She does amazing work (great handwriting too) and I think she's one of those over-looked kids who makes no trouble, sits quietly, and then drops bombs when asked. She almost always drop-kicked my thinking and made me question some of my assumptions about a passage. Any teachers out there? You know how valuable that is!

 

Taymar graduated, but not before winning a cool fountain pen, and a jar of Quink for college. I kept getting him mixed up with...

 

Dumonte who, after a week or so of settling in, just tore my film class up. SMART kid, and he won a fountain pen for such great, insightful writing.

 

Jahmil got 1130% in my class because she NEVER went for the easy answer. She challenged herself to do better every time and DID. Total rockstar. She won a TWSBI and a vial of Noodler's Black.

 

Hailey S. had won a Jinhao, but it broke because she used it so much. So I awarded her a Pilot Prera this time around. Aside from her t-shirts advertising a succession of horrible bands, she was a great student and an even better kid. She was one of a few students who come by my room every morning to say hey. It's funny and fun to tease her about her Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt. Apparently they're not an Emo band, the mere suggestion producing extreme reactions on her part. Funny.

 

Jen S. won a brass Kaweco Sport (THANK YOU Barking Pig!) for her essay about why teenagers act like jerks when they're around their peers.

 

Johan won a Pilot for his essay on Gatsby, an entire paragraph dissecting the immortal final lines in the book/movie “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” It has to come down to this: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” in which he made connections to the class, his own life, and Donald Trump.

 

Natalie transferred into my films course in the 3rd quarter and tore it down in the 4th. She won a lovely, white, Pilot Metro for best grade.

 

Santino won a Parker 25 (!) for his last essay, and three of his teachers contacted me later to tell me how high he was on having won a pen. He's got some challenges and his caseworker said she'd never seen him so proud.

Stephanie is also dealing with some difficulties cognitively, but she works SO HARD and she really got a great grade, so I awarded a gold Pilot Metro that had her grinning ear to ear. She's so shy she didn't even look me in the eye, but she was so clearly happy. What a great kid and a fantastic year, all due to you guys on this forum. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

 

I am in your debt FNP.

 

OK! More to come! End of year meeting. eGADS!

PapaM

Edited June 12, 2017 by Papamud

[Barkingpig]

Congratulations Papa Mud, for obviously reaching students & bringing out their, sometimes hidden & best talents! EVERY student is capable & has a small diamond mine hidden inside them; the difficulty is reaching them, to have them offer same up, in a public setting among their friends. Each student you mentioned is lucky to have you for their teacher.

 

Thank you for allowing us to share your successes.

[alc3261]

This particular PIF has been running quite a while and I think Papamud is OK for pen stocks at the moment, therefore I am closing this thread (for now).