Pens for Kids origins
Passing on the Legacy
Pens for Children
Excerpted from article originally printed in The PENnant,
Fall/Winter 2001 Copyright Sam Fiorella
Fountain pens are strange and exotic things to the majority of children
in the US today. My pens have attracted quizzical stares from the young
and an outpouring of questions about just what that thing was I was
using to write with! In my experience, children never fail to be fascinated
by a fountain pen.
A few years ago, the P.C.A. Board of Directors discussed and decided
it worthy to investigate further how to get fountain pens into the hands
of children in America. The overall thought was not to just hand out
pens, but to convey the history of the pen and the enjoyment ones gets
when using a pen. We wanted to pass on the legacy of the fountain pen
so that future generations could do the same. If fountain pens are to
survive in today's high tech world, it will be because we have taken
the time share our love of pens with those younger than us.
After delving in to study how the P.C.A. could help get pens into the
hands of children, reality hit that the P.C.A., as a national organization,
was ill equipped to select one single school and try to facilitate this
project. I needed to look no further than our membership to find programs
already in place across the US. Some of these are formal programs implemented
by local pen clubs, others are less formal, but, no less affective,
implemented by individual pen collectors. The common goal of each is
to introduce fountain pens to the next generation.
Lone Star Pen Club members, urged on by Patrick and Sherry Irby have
been active in getting pens into the hands of children. Nary a Houston
Pen Show goes by where there is not a box on the registration table
marked "Pens for Kids", and the box always has donated pens
inside. The club takes these donated pens, gets together as a group
and has a mass repair session on them and finally presents them to high
school students. Club members give a presentation on fountain pens,
inks, the history of writing and calligraphy to the recipients. Included
in the presentation is a demonstration to show the students how to fill
a fountain pen and how to write with a fountain pen. To date, the Lone
Star Pen Club has put fountain pens in the hands of over 200 kids! The
club accepts donations of all types of fountain pens for this ongoing
project and they're ready and willing to do repairs on non-working pens.
In Miami, Florida, pen collector and middle school teacher, Gilbert
Socas has turned pens into a creative teaching medium. He offers fountain
pens as rewards for his students, but also uses them as an integral
part of his daily classes. A recent assignment was for the students
to write a persuasive essay on why h/she was the student most deserving
of a pen. Gilbert's classes are also involved in research projects on
the history of writing instruments, pen materials and why the ink doesn't
fall out the end of a pen. The best projects result in each student
member receiving a fountain pen. Each of Gilbert's fountain pen recipients
also get a crash course in fountain pen writing and proper care of their
new pen.
When I was preparing and researching this article, I asked Gilbert
for some help from his students. We asked them several pen-related questions
and I must say the answers were candid and delightful. So much so that,
I've included the questions and answers below for all to read. Pen manufacturers
and dealers take note, these are going to be some well educated fountain
pen buyers in a few years, if they aren't already there!
Question 1: Do you think writing with a fountain pen improves your
penmanship? Why?
"My handwriting is usually bad with a ballpen, better with a pencil,
but it is 100% better with a fountain pen. I can't rush with a fountain
pen because I am left handed, and get ink all over my hand. But my teachers
can understand my handwriting when I write with the fountain pen Mr.
Socas gave me." Raul, 8th grade.
"I have pretty handwriting, I think. Maybe not with a crayon,
but everything else is OK. But, I take more care when I write with a
fountain pen because it is such a fine object. I like to treat it with
respect, and I pretend I am a girl from long ago. So I write nicer and
more elegant" Wendy, 7th grade.
"My social studies teacher returned a paper to me because she
said it looked like a wild chicken did it. My English teacher gave me
a Sheaffer (he's cheap, he wouldn't give me the big black Parker from
his collection). Anyway, I used the cheap Sheaffer and wrote the paper
all over again, and this time the social studies teacher said it was
very nice. I still want the big Parker! Are you listening, Mr. Socas?"
Alex, 7th grade.
"With a fountain pen, you have to slow down and think. You can't
be messy. My essays are much better now, because I think about what
I am going to write before I write it. I think the teacher gave me a
pen as a trick to make me think better. The pens make my writing look
nicer too, but I hate to get ink on my hand. I have to carry wet wipes
with me." Ingrid, 8th grade.
Question 2: Since you have now seen many different styles of fountain
pens from your teacher's collection, you know there are many kinds of
pens. If you could have any fountain pen in the world and had the money
to get it, what would you like to have and why?
"I would have the big black Parker (Duofold) that Mr. Socas is
too cheap to give me. One day, when he brings his cases again, it is
going to disappear, and I am going to play dumb" Alex, 7th grade.
"I don't like the click ones (Namiki VP) because they are pretending
to be a regular pen. But I would love to have the big yellow one, the
one with the brown stripes (Pelikan tortoise), and I would like to find
a nice pink pen to put pink ink in it. Do they have pink pens?"
Amalia, 8th grade.
"I like the one that has a hidden point. (Parker 51) In any color.
They look like a space shuttle" Jairo, 7th grade.
"All of the pens are cool, except the one that looks like a sneaker
(Rotring Core). That's a stupid pen. I like fountain pens because they
remind me of old times, and this one is trying to pretend it is from
the future. Besides, it is ugly. I'm sorry, but that's the truth"
Ossie, 8th grade.
"My teacher has many pens, but I like the ones he says are called
Legacy. You have to pump them up to fill them, like a bike pump, but
without so much pumping. The teacher filled one in class to show us,
and never got his fingers dirty. It must be the other pens that get
his fingers dirty." Emmanuel, 8th grade.
"I always wanted a fountain pen since I was a little boy because
I only saw elegant people using them. And I want to be an elegant person
when I grow up. When I can, I want an Opera pen, like my teacher has.
But I don't like opera because people scream all the time. I guess I
can be elegant, and have a nice pen, and not have to go the opera. And
my teacher says the Opera pen goes well with a tuxedo which is very
elegant". Alian, 8th grade.
"I want every fountain pen in the world if I can have them and
don't have to pay for them!" Jonathan, 6th grade.
"There is one pen I don't like because it scares me: a needle
comes out of it!!!!(Sheaffer Snorkel) But I like the ones that you can
pump. I don't like the ones with cartridges either, but my teacher doesn't
have any. He gives those away" Helen, 6th grade.
"I want any pen my teacher doesn't have so I can show off like
he does. I saw on the Internet that they have $5,000 pens, and I want
one of those. With a lot of gold. That way I can show it off and tell
Mr. Socas: Ha, ha! I have this pen and you don't!" Pedro, 7th grade.
Doug Vicary, a pen collecting art teacher in Pennsylvania puts fountain
pens in the hands of his students for pen and ink drawing lessons. They
focus on techniques such as cross hatching, feathering and stippling.
Doug states "beside the visual interest, the kids are intrigued
by the complexity of the fountain pen, they like the fact that there
are inner workings, that the pens can be refilled when they run dry.
They also like the fact that a little bit of effort and concentration
is needed to make the pen work properly, that they can't just put it
to paper and make it work, but that they have to make sure the nib is
aligned correctly."
Last year, the Platinum Pen Company generously donated 300 disposable
fountain pens to Doug for use with his middle school students. Aside
from learning new art techniques with these pens, the students use the
pens for writing assignments in other classes, too. Doug also uses the
pens as incentives for good work or exceptionally good behavior. The
students work hard for these pens, they recognize them as pens "outside
the norm". One of Doug's students goes so far as to keep his prized
pen in a little safe so his brother won't take it to school and lose
it!
Patrick and Sherry in Houston, Gilbert in Miami and Doug in Pennsylvania
are just the tip of the iceberg! The Southeast Pen Collectors Club in
the Atlanta area has introduced a local class to fountain pens. Dan
Reppert and Cyndie Schlagel always have a supply of pens on their table
at pen shows for those not yet old enough to have a drivers license.
I am certain that there are more of our members who are involved in
introducing pens to kids. Please write to me, so I can tell your stories,
too.
For those of you with a few extra pens laying around, I encourage you
to donate them to one of the groups or individuals listed below. If
you prefer, you can send them to the P.C.A., we will act as a clearinghouse
and distribute the pens equally to "pens for kids" projects
on your behalf. With your help, we can pass on the legacy of fountain
pens to future generations.
A special thank you to Lowell Lindsey of the North Texas Fountain Pen
Collectors Club. Lowell has religiously saved fountain pens for several
years knowing that one day we could get this project off the ground.
Lowell, we're ready to pass those pens on now!
Pen donations can be made to the Pen Collectors of America. Contact Linda Bauer for more information.
|
