The Gel Pen Craze

1. 84

   talfonsoposted 11 years ago

   A year after moving from New Jersey to Florida, in 5th grade, gel pens were HOT at the time. Nearly every girl I know who is in the regular classes had at least 3-5 of them. I on the other hand was a mainstreamed autistic attending regular classes. I'd often get jealous of them writing (ahem - grading) peers' papers with those pens. They range from glitter, milky, neon, rainbow, to even scented (I mean, scented with fruit fragrances) colors.
   
   I think that most of my classmates understood that they are not suitable for doing the actual assignments (unless they are black or dark blue) because it would be graded as a "Didn't Do." My teacher had a grading system which used creative phrases and words rather than letters. A "Perfect" means an A, a "Yes" means a B, an "R" means a C, a "Less than Half" means a D to a mid-high F, and a "Didn't Do" means a complete 0. (Even if my assignments were written with black/dark blue ink or #2 pencil, I had a few "Didn't Do's" and "Less than Halves," I have to admit.)
   
   Well, most high and middle schoolers nowadays decorate notes with colored markers, but the gel pen lives on, mostly in a scrapbooker's hand. Do you remember having gel pens at school or not having them but wanting them. What were your experiences?

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2. 61

   tksabresinosposted 11 years ago

   I remember being in grade school and having an orange gel pen. Nearly everyone in the school would write with gel pens well until the fad disappeared and the teachers became more  strict on regulating the kind of writing utensil we used. There was that awesome period of time where it was complete useable and accepted. I will always remember.

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   1. 84

      talfonsoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You had an orange one? Where did you get it?
      
      Well, I borrowed a lot of gel pens from friends. I loved the bold colors that pop from the papers of those I graded - neon blues, greens, and pinks. Again, nobody in my school wrote the actual assignments in them even at the height of the craze. (They were too smart to do so, otherwise everybody would get a "Less than Half" or a "Didn't Do" due to the illegibility!)

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3. 61

   tksabresinosposted 11 years ago

   Where i'm from you could get them anywhere and the teacher even gave them away as prizes. We were able to use them for work, but not everything.

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4. 91

   Patty Inglish, MSposted 11 years ago

   I began using gel pens to make notes in the theaters as I review films, because the gel allows the pen to move faster and dispense ink more quickly. I have these pens in all colors and get them at the grocery store in 10-paks, multi-color. They are a real help! Never used them in school, though.

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