sharpen a teacher's pencils
I guess that it's a metaphor of something. What does "sharpening a teacher's pencils" in the following line truly mean?
you would get to choose between painting military barracks for 18 months or sharpening a teacher’s pencils for two years.
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/146471/
Thank you in advance!
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Answers · 5
1
Both examples mean extremely menial work.
"painting military barracks for 18 months" = you join the military and do menial work
"sharpening a teacher’s pencils for two years" = you don't join the military; you stay a civilian and... do menial work.
So whether you join the army or not, you end up with a very boring and almost pointless job.
0
In this specific example I believe it means to waste time at school (instead of 'painting military barracks for 18 months').
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