Is fashion stationery distracting students from lessons?

Move aside standard-shaped erasers and scentless highlighters; welcome in the stationery of today’s generation!

 

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A post shared by Ambi C (@ambi_c_youtube) on Sep 18, 2018 at 9:33am PDT

With its extra glitz and glamour, school apparatus that stands out like this is referred to as fashion stationery.

Taking the school market by storm, educators and companies are desperate to the get their hands on global market reports that sum up the trends, forecasts and analysis of the global stationery scene so they can gain the upper hand.

The demand for fashionable stationary is so huge that even the premium brand, Louis Vuitton, has cashed in on the trends with a stylish set of monogrammed pencils and portable cases!

 

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Louis Vuitton will be releasing a set of monogrammed colouring pencils with a wraparound case Rumoured to release at the end of March for around $900 🗣 – @lvj12

A post shared by Supreme Leaks News (@supreme_leaks_news) on Feb 23, 2019 at 6:08am PST

Are these flashy stationery items distracting students from their work?

Let’s be honest – if you’re at your desk and you’re not paying attention to the teacher, then of course your set of animal-shaped erasers or yummy smelly scented ink pens are going to provide the perfect distraction.

That’s why two years ago, this British teacher requested a ban on fashion stationery.

In his opinion, “Some of this stationery should not be allowed in the classroom because it’s really only a distraction. Nobody really needs a pencil sharpener that’s shaped like a nail varnish pot and nobody really needs a pencil case with six different compartments.”

However, some students may disagree…

 

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I had such a special day at @smiggle_uk on Saturday. I’m truly thankful. @staceysimner made me feel so special and she was so cool. She was as excited as me. . . . . #smiggle #smiggleuk #stationery #pencils #pens #pencilcases #schoolstationery #schoolbag #packlunchboxes #lunchbox #scented #keyrings #squishies #slime #arts #crafts #drawing #alarmclocks #luppg #luppgsquad #louisesunicornpowerpuffgirl

A post shared by LUPPG (OFFICIAL) (@louiseluppg) on Feb 11, 2019 at 11:56am PST

With so many fluffy and fun school items to choose from, how can young learners resist?

At the age where anything seems possible, it makes sense that kids want to take abstract backpacks and glow-in-the-dark apparatus to school – especially if ‘show and tell’ is a regular occurrence.

Distraction or not, wouldn’t it be odd to ban a student’s personal stationery in an age where K12 education is being steered towards conducive and creative learning environments?

 

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It’s easy to see how the eyes of young learners move away from the whiteboard and onto kitsch stationery items, but there are ways of integrating both.

For instance, matching the scented highlighter up to the picture of the fruit on the page and asking elementary students to join the two together by colouring it in, or using fashion stationery as a prize for the weekly quiz.

There are many ways for teachers to engage with this trend – go ahead and even embrace it!

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