Red Ink Banned in Schools?

TheRoadDog

At schools in both Australia and the U.K., green ink has replaced red ink in marking children's paper because of its 'confrontational' nature.

What do you think about that? Reasonable?

BigT555

is this legit?

if so thats possibly the stupidest thing i've ever heard. and i've heard some doosies

the extent of "hand-holding" in regards to children in modern society is ridiculous. pretty soon kids wont even be able to wipe their own *kitten*

let them make mistakes. let them learn a hard lesson or two. they'll be better off for it

DBoone85

I used to write my papers in red so that the corrections were not so traumatic. Green corrections on my red papers would look kind of festive...lilke Christmas. I like the idea.

TheRoadDog

is this legit?

if so thats possibly the stupidest thing i've ever heard. and i've heard some doosies

the extent of "hand-holding" in regards to children in modern society is ridiculous. pretty soon kids wont even be able to wipe their own *kitten*

let them make mistakes. let them learn a hard lesson or two. they'll be better off for it

Yep. Here's the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08/17/school-bans-20-weird-things_n_1797858.html

squishycatmew

The color of the ink really is pretty meaningless. I've gotten corrections and grades in a huge range of colors, at all grade levels (including university) - the color really doesn't change anything. Red is nice and visible, though, but green and purple work well, too, in terms of contrast between the work and the comments.

myrtille87

Some schools do this, not all.

I'm a teacher in the UK and I generally mark in red, sometimes in green - occasionally in purple or bright blue. It's basically whatever pen I have within reach that stands out from the pupil's work.

emuravyeva

My teacher friends have been telling me that our province wants to do away with failing kids and/or holding them back a year if they're doing really poorly. So doing away with red pens sounds like small potatoes to me... Pathetic, all the same.

HeidiCooksSupper

As a former teacher of graduate students, I used the color reaction as a teaching tool. If I wanted the student to see the correction as constructive criticism, I'd use a friendly color like green, teal, lavender, etc. If I was really trying to give a "dope slap," I'd whip out the red. Lost that subtlety when we switched to online assignments and corrections -- though judicious use of the electronic highlighter when possible helped.

diespel

this PC is going the route of , 'no winners or losers, participation badges for everyone'......
take a look at what one region in Ontario did for soccer.... http://www.cbc.ca/thisisthat/blog/2013/09/03/to-ensure-every-child-wins-ontario-athletic-association-removes-ball-from-soccer/

JustinAnimal

Why don't we just give everyone a plaque for showing up because we're ALL UNIQUE. That makes sense and doesn't create a generation of wimps. I mean, look at me! I expect a trophy (which I'll later throw away) for making it to work on time every day.

I love the red pen. It just stands out among pencil or black ink. I don't have a problem with green, other than the reason for switching seems so unbelievably stupid and weak. We wouldn't want our children and young adults to understand that there is confrontation in the world and, often (because of them) it is with a teacher.

lishie_rebooted

The summer of 2009, I interned at a local electric utility in one of the engineering departments (since I'm an engineer).
My boss had me write some white papers and he'd never mark them in red - always green or purple.
And I'd proof my mentor's scopes for him since English was like his 7th language (I'm fairly certain he was fluent in at least 3-4 of them and could hold a pretty good convo in the rest, he was awesome) and I'd mark it in red.
My boss commented that it's better to mark in green/purple since it's less harsh looking.

Diary_Queen

I think they need to quit being so damned metrosexually sensitive to what they perceive is an issue with the masses and grade in whatever color they choose. Grade it in blood and tack it to the desk with a dagger... when did teachers get forced to be whimps and not be respected as professionals who are guiding kids into knowledge and the responsibilities of life. I can't imagine how much inner strength it takes to be a teacher! Very sick of so many excuses and not enough hard work on the part of the public.

As I've stated, I don't raise my kids to whine and complain (even though they do because they're kids)... but this seems beyond ridiculous. If you get an answer wrong on a paper/test and it's graded in green then you get a mental 'atta boy' and 'everyone gets a prize, even the loser' is perpetuated. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake and doing something incorrectly... that's how we learn.

socajam

At schools in both Australia and the U.K., green ink has replaced red ink in marking children's paper because of its 'confrontational' nature.

What do you think about that? Reasonable?

The next generation is doomed. Could you imagine working with some of these kids and having to correct something they did wrong?

k8blujay2

I think it's stupid as f***... Professors aren't going to give a damn about yourself esteem... this is in no way preparing them for college... Students who go through a system like this will piss themselves when they get to college because they will think their professor bled all over their papers to POINT OUT MISTAKES.

sassyjae21

Lol.

I have to agree with the red ink seeming more hardcore. That *kitten* hurt my soul when I saw a ton of red marks.

But it got my *kitten* in gear.

Most times. lol.

Keep it.

The more we coddle these kids, the less they'll be able to cope with NORMAL life.

Blacklance36

I'm not surprised, and then these coddled kids get out into the regular work a day life and cant handle it.

We hired a 24 year old that was shocked to find out that he couldn't wear his ear buds when walking around the office. We also hired a 19 year old that quit when she found out she couldn't check her facebook every hour. (we allow it during breaks only). It wasn't just that we told her, it was that she resented being told, as that doesn't usually happen in schools.

I also read today that a girl in the U.S. was suspended for saying "bless you" to someone who sneezed. Tell me that happens in a normal business.......

bugaboo_sue

Oh good lord.

No red pens because the color is "offensive" and a child might feeeeel baaaaaaad because they got a bad mark.

There are no "winners or losers" in life. Everyone is a winner! Wait, you got the lowest score? Don't worry! Here's a medal for you any way!

What's next, no more grades? "Oh, we can't use the grading system any longer because if Timmy got an F on his paper but Sally got an A+ then Timmy is going to feel bad about himself. Instead we're going to put stickers and happy faces on everyone's tests because they tried!"

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Derpes

What about at clown schools? Do they still use invisible ink?:huh:

justanotherloser007

The reasoning is bizarre. No matter how you are corrected, you will stand corrected. Sidenote, more people are green colorblind than any other color.

My Grandfather was a boxer and he always told me to tuck my chin, because it doesn't really matter what you do in life you will be taking hits. I thought this was shrewd advice, and if red ink is your hit to the chin... you may need to wear bubble wrap to school.

Infamous_El_Guapo

777Gemma888

At schools in both Australia and the U.K., green ink has replaced red ink in marking children's paper because of its 'confrontational' nature.

What do you think about that? Reasonable?

It's a non-issue with me. It was also the case back when I was in High School [Uniprep A & B ~ Australia and IGCSE and IB through the UK] and I am now 37. *shrugs* Granted, it was a tad different, making the adjustment from the NZ marked tests/exams with the red coloured pen ink.

scrapalooza

So Green is the new red?

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PMA140

I think it should be left up to the teacher to chose which color of ink they would like to correct papers in. There are far more important things to worry about concerning our children's education. Obviously this politically correct, coddling, everyone is a winner approach is not working based on the bullying and abuse that is taking place in schools by out of control brats that no one is allowed to punish.

Sabine_Stroehm

They've been discussing this "topic" since I did my teacher training in the mid-80s. I was told then not to use red to mark papers.

Mikkimeow

While I think that is stupid, I am not surprised. Speaking of red, I grew up in the Kansas City School district, so we could not wear any red or blue because the Bloods and Crips were pretty prevalent; especially in the highschools.

Slacker16

The color of the ink really is pretty meaningless. I've gotten corrections and grades in a huge range of colors, at all grade levels (including university) - the color really doesn't change anything.

QFT.

I barely remember anything ages 13-20... I sort of remember being in a car accident at some point. The color of the pens used to mark my papers did not leave a lasting impression.

I mark in red when I have a red pen, otherwise whatever... I'm in favour of this, red pens are expensive.

BigT555

You know what I love?

When a tiny handful of schools decide to try something different and people act like it's the downfall of society.

People who don't even live in the same country.

"It has to be done in red!! My papers were marked in red and it made me the winner I am today!"

its not the fact that they're doing something different its the reasons why. kids are so ridiculously sheltered these days, its going to cause some *kitten* in the future. this is just one step further in the direction of living in an over-protective society

skippygirlsmom

Funny this came up, last night my daughter (14) told me she was happy when the teacher was handing out their test papers because she could tell even before the teacher walker over to her that she got a good grade. I said how could you tell, she said because the only red I could see on the paper was the circle on the top with my grade. I had to laugh but sure enough it was a cirlce with a 100 in it.

I always thought the point to the red is to show the student where the problem is, not to hurt their feelings. Glad my feelings weren't so easily hurt in school, I saw a lot of red. :bigsmile:

_Pseudonymous_

All I have to say is that if the generations before me think that my generation is bad then they better hope they all die off before they have to deal with the newest generation when they become adults.