There are children in developing nations who write with sticks in the dirt. With their feet.
My sixth grade cousin just tried to tell me that he couldn't do his homework because he didn't have a pencil. He was unaware that I used to ensure that children did their homework for a living. I have at least a dozen mechanical pencils in my car, and I was more than prepared to march my ass out to the car to get him one.
Miraculously, he found one.
His sister, only a year his senior, never ever needs to be reminded to do her homework. She gets upset if she gets less than a hundred. Ryan has to work harder. He's smart as a whip but school isn't about how smart you are, it's about how well you test. Just don't give me any bullshit about not having a pencil.