Berol pens ..... why?

[aristocat]

At my DCs school they progress from pencil to Berol pens. The pupils are only allowed to use blue (not black) berol for their work.
Is this something that only our school does? We use all sorts of pens at home (have a pen fetish myself )


DS will be in yr 6 in a few weeks and I hope that when he moves to Secondary they will be thankful if he has a pen at all

[maizieD]

Goodness, how 'interesting'...

It's a while since I used a Berol pen but I found them uncomfortable to hold (too fat, round and smooth) and 'scratchy'. As I recall, the ink sometimes smudges too... Perhaps they have improved since then.

I am prepared to bet, though, that all the children have beautiful handwriting. It seems to fit with this much attention to detail...

(Hmm. I think I have a bit of a pen fetish, too )

[juniper904]

I don't know why schools all use Berol, but it does seem to be that way. I love love love Berol pens! They are just nicer pens than the other brands.

I am a bit ott with my classes using the felt tips. We don't get that many of them, and an uncapped pen makes my eyes twitch. It's like Pritt sticks

[aristocat]

thanks, not just our school then

[maizieD]

I love love love Berol pens!

You are talking about Berol Handwriting Pens aren't you?

Oh well, I suppose it takes all sorts... [shaking head]

[cornybootseeker]

I also find the fat berol pens uncomfortable. The 'pen licence' thing is ridiculous. Lots of schools do it though.

[nickelcognito]

i like berol but not for handwriting - far too thick.

what happened to a good old fountain pen?
i'll be most upset if DD doesn't get to learn with one of those - that's the best way to write!

[nickelcognito]

I don't find the Pen License ridiculous - we did it in my day, and that was 2mumble years ago.

[GeraldineAubergine]

What's a pen license? Are pens different now? Am I using them wrong? So many questions!

[cornybootseeker]

You have to be able to write neatly before you use a pen or get the covetted pen license. But for some children it's easier to write neatly with a pen ( if you get the right pen) than with a pencil, due to having to press down with a pencil to achieve the right amount of pressure.

[nickelcognito]

i've just noticed i spelt it wrongly - pen licence

[cornybootseeker]

Me too - are you on an iPad - I am. It's a bugger for changing spellings.

[cornybootseeker]

License licence.
It didn't change it! Is license american?

[TheFallenMadonna]

Why blue?

I encourage black in secondary, because they need black for writing exam papers.

[dontcallmehon]

I like Berol pens. Strange that schools are so picky though!

[nickelcognito]

license is both verb and noun in american.
in brit english, licence is noun and license is verb.

[nickelcognito]

i'm on pc, i'm just being distracted.
honest guv.

[LoopyLoopsOlympicHoops]

I, and many people I know, have a scar-lump on my right middle finger from years of forced Berol handwriting pen usage. They hurt and are horrible, no idea why they are still used. Nasty pens.

[cornybootseeker]

Thanks for clearing that up!

[mrz]

We progress from pencil to good old Bic biros. We don't use Berol handwriting pens mainly because the ink often makes spots on the next page, but I agree uncomfortable and difficult for many children to use.

[mrz]

We say blue pens because staff mark in black.

[Machadaynu]

[juniper904]

I write in felt tip as my handwriting is fairly bad. If I want the children to be able to read my writing, I can't use biros or gel pens. I've had parents compliment my handwriting, which is a shocker seeing as my own teachers used to despair at my appalling handwriting. One said it looked as if a spider had died whilst trying to cross my page

[Emandlu]

They did this when I was at school. When I was in my final year of primary school I think they felt sorry for me and gave me a pen to use. After less than a week it was taken away and I had to write in pencil again.
I was always very of Caroline Green and her oh-so-perfect writing.

Then in my 1st year of high school, we had to use fountain pen in English. The number of times I was berated for smudges and scrawling writing doesn't bear thinking about.

I didn't learn to write neatly until I was 14 and chose to do so.

[Ineedaflippinmedal]

Hate pen licences with a passion, my poor Dd2 used to say "Maybe I will get my pen licence in assembly today" every friday for about 2 years

In the end I complained about the damage this was doing to her already shaky self esteem. Surprise, surprise she was given one the next week.

Dd3 used to just say "I will never get one of those then!!" I moved her to another school and she sometimes writes in pen and sometimes in pencil. She uses a stabilo leftie pen and writes beautifully now she is not terrified.