One of the dumbest PC things to date.

24

Replies

  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    I enjoyed seeing my A's in red ink.
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
    Patti I could not have laid the sarcasm on any thicker if I tried!

    I know. I just wanted to add to it.
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
    I enjoyed seeing my A's in red ink.

    Haha...I was thinking the same thing. *overachiever*
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    You should see how they do report cards now. You need an education degree to decipher it. Rather than grading them for subjects, they score them for benchmarks. I sent a comment informing them that educational jargon is utterly useless to a parent looking to reinforce performance.

    i just recently heard the term "benchmark." what is it exactly?


    i was actually going to post that i am surprised kids even receive grades anymore.

    A benchmark is a performance measure. Like for example, for math her report card looked something like this (scale of 1-4; 1 - not meeting and 4 - exceeding):

    Understands simple arithmetic functions - 3
    Uses and interprets graphs - 4
    Converts fractions to decimals - 2
    Understands geometric shapes - 4
    Understands and utilizes algebraic expression - 1

    No overall score in math provided. How exactly is a parent supposed to know how to reinforce the child's performance? I could understand including this as an accompaniment to the report card. But I can't go through each line item, translate it so that she understands what she is being praised for, and then reward her for each one.
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
    I grade all my Sunday school papers with red ink. Never thought about it until now, but that's the color of the devil! My poor Sunday school kids! :devil:
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    You should see how they do report cards now. You need an education degree to decipher it. Rather than grading them for subjects, they score them for benchmarks. I sent a comment informing them that educational jargon is utterly useless to a parent looking to reinforce performance.

    i just recently heard the term "benchmark." what is it exactly?


    i was actually going to post that i am surprised kids even receive grades anymore.

    I consider benchmarks as the specific skills a child should have by the end of that grade. Most states are turning to the common core standards as benchmarks to use. They are pretty broad but provide teachers with the ability to break them down and teach them how they or their district want them to.

    Yes. That was my point. It's useful to the teachers, but not the parents.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    How does this effect you?

    because i live in the world in which these kids are raised

    And how is not using a red pen going to effect the way these kids are being raised?

    Because it has to be red pen aarrgghhh!! I was graded with a red pen and it made me the tough man I am today! Kids are so soft, we had it hard. We are going to be the weakest country in the world and probably get invaded by Canada!! This is a country full of whiners and babies and everyone wants to rant about the stupidest things MUST USE RED PEN AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

    :yawn:

    :flowerforyou:

    I'm canadian... and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be thrilled or insulted. lol
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    I enjoyed seeing my A's in red ink.

    Haha...I was thinking the same thing. *overachiever*

    *beats up the nerds*
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    I enjoyed seeing my A's in red ink.

    Haha...I was thinking the same thing. *overachiever*

    *beats up the nerds*

    Careful Brett. You'll be needing us later...
  • the_texreb
    the_texreb Posts: 138 Member
    Red? Blue? Does it matter? You're still a failure. And as long as your teacher tells you so, you can dust yourself off, identify the problem, get to work, and better yourself.

    However, if your teacher tells you that its ok to fail, then we got real problems.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    My son brings home papers marked in a variety of colors. I prefer red because it makes is easier for me to find what he is getting wrong on his papers. Blue or black ink tends to blend in.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I'm so confused right now.

    I get my son's school papers that say "NEW RECORD!!"

    ok, but WTF does that even mean??
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    Oh wow. I mean, I guess it breaks it down with specifics on where improvement is needed. Do they not get any overall scores in classes? As, Bs, etc.?


    As for red ink, it isn't like red ink is only used for poor grades. It is used for all scores. Really, the fact that it is even an issue is ridiculous. I am sure there were countless meetings in the DO about it too. What a fantastic way to spend tax dollars.
  • diodelcibo
    diodelcibo Posts: 2,564 Member
    Oxymoron...
  • pitbulllover
    pitbulllover Posts: 98 Member
    Wow, get over it. Stop thinking you're so tough because your papers were graded with red ink. I think YOU are the *****.

    Also, if you think it's so easy to be a kid nowadays, think again. Sure we had different struggles at our age, and now they have things to deal with that we never dreamed of. Different? Yes. Easier? No.

    I think some kids do better when they're encouraged. Other kids need reprimanded. It all depends on the kid, and being a teacher I imagine would be hard because you're forced to treat them all the same.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Oh wow. I mean, I guess it breaks it down with specifics on where improvement is needed. Do they not get any overall scores in classes? As, Bs, etc.?

    No, they don't. :grumble:
  • Gwenski
    Gwenski Posts: 348 Member
    LOL! This brought back memories. It's not only the colour of the ink that you need to worry about. Case in point, one day my daughter mentioned in a parent-child-teacher interview that he had yelled at her.. the coversation went something like this:
    Teacher: (name) is a very good student and well-behaved
    Daughter: Yes, you've only yelled at me once
    Teacher: When have I EVER yelled at you?
    Daughter: On that one test.. you wrote in block caps.. EVERYONE KNOWS WHEN YOU WRITE IN BLOCK CAPS THAT YOU'RE YELLING!
    Teacher: Pardon?
    Daughter: Um, yeah!.. Don't you chat on the internet?
    Me: *FacePalm* *Shakes head* Dear heavens.. when did we adult become the victims of technology?
  • metaphoria
    metaphoria Posts: 1,432 Member
    How does this effect you?

    because i live in the world in which these kids are raised

    And how is not using a red pen going to effect the way these kids are being raised?

    Because it has to be red pen aarrgghhh!! I was graded with a red pen and it made me the tough man I am today! Kids are so soft, we had it hard. We are going to be the weakest country in the world and probably get invaded by Canada!! This is a country full of whiners and babies and everyone wants to rant about the stupidest things MUST USE RED PEN AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

    :yawn:

    :flowerforyou:

    I'm canadian... and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be thrilled or insulted. lol

    Shh. Don't let them know we're coming... Don't fire til you see the whites of their eyes.
  • apg2302
    apg2302 Posts: 667
    Unfortunately the decline in the apparent intellect of "modern" society is only going to increase as governments and other NGOs pander to the every whim of an ever increasing lazy under current of society who persist in making a fuss out of nothing.
    If these morons insist on passing ridiculous edicts and forcing quite frankly retarded rules on people with half a brain in their head, it would be nice if they could just keep it to themselves and be happy that they've made their own pathetic little lives a little busier, rather than force everyone with an IQ above that of an amoeba to want to flee from the planet en masse at yet more unnecessary ring licking and mollycoddling.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Wow, get over it. Stop thinking you're so tough because your papers were graded with red ink. I think YOU are the *****.

    Also, if you think it's so easy to be a kid nowadays, think again. Sure we had different struggles at our age, and now they have things to deal with that we never dreamed of. Different? Yes. Easier? No.

    I think some kids do better when they're encouraged. Other kids need reprimanded. It all depends on the kid, and being a teacher I imagine would be hard because you're forced to treat them all the same.

    Things aren't that much different. The advancement of technology has altered things a bit, but kids still with the same things they have always had to deal with growing up.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Oh wow. I mean, I guess it breaks it down with specifics on where improvement is needed. Do they not get any overall scores in classes? As, Bs, etc.?

    No, they don't. :grumble:

    I tutored a high school kid last year. Apparently, it's also policy in the county I live in that children are no longer allowed to bring home graded homework, quizzes, or exams. All you get to see is a "grade" based on a "benchmark" on a website. They won't even send home photocopies.

    Tutoring a kid that had no graded work to look at was almost impossible for either of us. It's absurd.
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    Wow, get over it. Stop thinking you're so tough because your papers were graded with red ink. I think YOU are the *****.

    Also, if you think it's so easy to be a kid nowadays, think again. Sure we had different struggles at our age, and now they have things to deal with that we never dreamed of. Different? Yes. Easier? No.

    I think some kids do better when they're encouraged. Other kids need reprimanded. It all depends on the kid, and being a teacher I imagine would be hard because you're forced to treat them all the same.

    It is no easier nor difficult to be a kid now than it was 30 years ago when I was a kid. Kids are kids. Except we could play Red Rover, Smear the Queer, and Dodgeball without feeling guilty about it.
  • cuterbee
    cuterbee Posts: 545
    When one is grading papers, the ink used for editing/grading should be a different color so the student can see what they did wrong. It can be ANY color other than what the student used. When I was teaching (and when I edited my kids' papers), I usually went for green or purple (but then, red is my least favorite color). If most students don't care, but it affects a few students negatively, I'd go for the solution that allows more kids to learn how to correct their mistakes and not make them the next time.

    Grades are not about punishment. Grades are all about "this is where you have deficits in your knowledge, and these are the holes we have to fill with appropriate skills or data".
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    You should see how they do report cards now. You need an education degree to decipher it. Rather than grading them for subjects, they score them for benchmarks. I sent a comment informing them that educational jargon is utterly useless to a parent looking to reinforce performance.

    i just recently heard the term "benchmark." what is it exactly?


    i was actually going to post that i am surprised kids even receive grades anymore.

    A benchmark is a performance measure. Like for example, for math her report card looked something like this (scale of 1-4; 1 - not meeting and 4 - exceeding):

    Understands simple arithmetic functions - 3
    Uses and interprets graphs - 4
    Converts fractions to decimals - 2
    Understands geometric shapes - 4
    Understands and utilizes algebraic expression - 1

    No overall score in math provided. How exactly is a parent supposed to know how to reinforce the child's performance? I could understand including this as an accompaniment to the report card. But I can't go through each line item, translate it so that she understands what she is being praised for, and then reward her for each one.

    This sounds way more useful then just sucking at math or being good at math! You have a very concrete idea of what your child needs to work on. Elite private schools can often have literal reports, in which each teacher writes a paragraph or so about the student's performance.

    That being said, I have always loved the "understands" ones...she knows that adding means more, but she can't actually add two plus two. And we are pretty much forced to set program goals we know our students can achieve, otherwise the program is a failure. "Meets expectations" is a pretty broad term. I have a few students I don't really expect to show up to the test.
  • How does this effect you?

    because i live in the world in which these kids are raised

    And how is not using a red pen going to effect the way these kids are being raised?

    Kids are so soft, we had it hard.

    Exactly. I had to walk to school 2 miles in the snow up hill both ways. Kids today couldn't handle that.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Soon the world will be wimpy, or at least the USA is going to be the wimpiest country that exists. I was just listening to news radio, and some group is saying that teachers should no longer mark school papers in red pen, because red upsets the kids.... it is recommended that they use blue "or other not so intimidating colors".

    Are you freaking serious?

    What's wrong with that exactly?

    The world has moved on along with the understanding that positive reinforcement and positive punishment works better than negative reinforcement and negative punishment.

    How will this go on to make the world "wimpy"? I've told you a million times not to exaggerate...
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    Seriously?! I can't believe people are so wimpified these days. Some countries still use a stick to the back of the hands for failing a test and these kids are upset by red ink? What is our world coming to?
  • PottsvilleCurse1925
    PottsvilleCurse1925 Posts: 354 Member
    We should stop grading all together. We don't want to correct the children's work so they know how to do things correctly. It might hurt their feelings. That way they can just take classes and learn without any kind of grade on their skill. Imagine how awesome and safe bridges will be in the future when future ungraded engineers design them! Because with this great system, anyone can design the bridge you drive on :drinker:
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    It's to make the dumb kids feel less dumb. And the stupid parents of the dumb kids to be happy when the D-'s aren't in red.
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    I do love it when people pine for the "good old days"

    Back when you could call people retarded, when you could call kids gay and beat them up, when kids with learning disabilities weren't permitted to be educated alongside everyone else, when girls were forced to take home ec and not allowed to play sports...

    Ah the good old days. Why on Earth did we ever change?