Smart pencils made me look a little daft

THE article about schools asking for parents to make donations (Mail) made me smile. While teaching in a local state secondary, I was informed at the beginning of the school year that there was no stationery budget allocated for my classes. So, I went out and bought exercise books and matching red pencils, on which it appeared to me there was a lovely white squiggly design. My pupils were delighted and my lessons a great success. The pencils went down a storm and many other pupils

asked if they could have one. A few weeks later, I was called in to the head teacher’s office. Was I to be commended for my initiative in supplying my own stationery and the success of my classes? No. Had I read what was on the red pencils? No — it was just a pattern, wasn’t it? No, it was the complete times table in miniature — and all of the recent maths tests had had a 100 per cent pass rate! Needless to say, my pencils were binned! But I did keep one as a souvenir. Mrs L. Dawson, Harlow, Essex.