MalloryKeaton

http://www.click2houston.com/educati...89/detail.html

'Stressful' Red Falling Out Of Favor As Teacher's Choice

Posted: 11:56 am CDT April 4, 2005

Washington -- Of all the things that can make a person see red, schools are finding parents getting huffy about -- well -- seeing red on students' papers and exams.

The color red has become an issue for school officials across the country. Some schools have now put red on the blacklist for marking students' work.

At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn., teachers are no longer grading papers in red ink. Parents complained that students get stressed out by red ink. Blue and other colors are now being used.

Red has become so symbolic of negativity that some principals and teachers across the country are not touching it.

Joseph Foriska, the principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pa., has instructed his teachers to grade with colors with more "pleasant-feeling tones" so that their instructional messages do not come across as derogatory or demeaning.

Top pen and marker manufacturers -- including Bic, Pilot Pen and Sanford, which produces Papermate and Sharpieare -- are making more purple pens in response to rising rising demand. The companies say principals and teachers are largely driving that demand.

The disillusionment with red is part of broader shift in grading, said Vanessa Powell, a fifth-grade teacher at Snowshoe Elementary School in Wasilla, Alaska.

"It's taken a turn from 'Here's what you need to improve on' to 'Here's what you've done right,"' Powell said. "It's not that we're not pointing out mistakes, it's just that the method in which it's delivered is more positive.

"Her students, she said, probably would tune out red because they are so used to it. So she grades with whatever color -- turquoise blue, hot pink, lime green -- appeals to them.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

*Lauren

Oh dear God. We're now getting to the point of ten chairs for five kids playing musical chairs is a possibilty aren't we? Everyone's a winner!

MalloryKeaton

quote: Oh dear God. We're now getting to the point of ten chairs for five kids playing musical chairs is a possibilty aren't we? Everyone's a winner!


What?

*Lauren

Its from a Simpsons eppsiode.

MarvelRoswell

People need to chill out. We lived through it why can't they?

However I will admit, I am just starting to get over my hatred of the color red due to some the my marks on school work.

Profaine Angel

But red's good because it stands out best against blue/black ink...so you can just scan the page for corrections instead of reading the whole thing One of my teachers used green as well, and once purple but it was actually more difficult to see that one at a glance in a sea of blue ink.

mh67511

I know! This idea gets one big

Our children are growing up to be big wimps. I don't know how the hell they are going to deal with failure in college or life in general. Failure does and will happen at some point.

You know what? If you lose the soccer game, you're NOT a winner. If you get an F on an assignment, YOU FAILED.

Mio

I had a teacher who hated red ink and uses purple.

Wait, it was a prof in my first year and she used green.

TheCheshireKitten

Rediculous...

My papers in school were usually graded with red ink, and I still love the color red. I have a lot of red shirts. The walls in my bedroom are red.


The whole is issue is utterly pathetic.

Candice L.

That's just sad. My dad told me that some playground took out a set of swings because people thought they were dangerous to the kids.

Someday, I am going to tell my children that I played on WOODEN playground equipment, jumped out of swings, AND my papers were graded with red ink! And you know what? I DIDN'T DIE!

Profaine Angel

my primary school actually *didn't* have swings or slides because they were deemed dangerous...although there was plenty of other higher scary wooden stuff that people probably fell off more anyway when I was in about grade 5 they got a bunch of new play equipment: swings and slides.

(and actually after a few weeks no one went on them much because every playground has swings and slides, and ours had bridges and climbey things and walkways and poles which were just so much cooler)

I don't think I had a point there

TheAngel

My English teacher last year used to joke about the fact that he used up four red pens on our research papers. I honestly think things like this are amusing. Hell, I've stabbed myself with a pair of scissors and sliced the side of my face open on the bumpper of an RV. Red ink is nothing. But this is the sad state of our modern world. Anyway, I've had 14 years of red ink so far and have another 8 1/2 to look forward to. Somehow, I think I'll survive.

mh67511

You'll survive, but you are going to be SO stressed out.

Somtimes I think PARENTS need spankings to get some sense knocked into them.

TheAngel

Yeah, working on that Phd, but hey, it'll be worth it in the end. It's funny though. Most of the comments on my papers in red ink have been good. I'm actually a fairly good writer and have never really performed bad on any papers I've written. I think the lowest grade I've ever gotten on a paper was a C and only one of those in my life. So I don't mind red ink. It has pretty good memories in the end.

Lain

What's wrong with red. I remember in 8th grade, my English teacher wouldn't use a red pen since it means death or something...(Chinese thing)

There's nothing wrong with red. I mean...there are good things about the color red, right?