Schools begin banning teachers from using red ink

[Rin Little]

I wish I was kidding about this, but some schools in the U.K. have actually prohibited teachers from using red ink pens when correcting student assignments. They say the red ink is "demoralizing to students" and "making them do worse in school." Are you freaking kidding me?! Red ink makes sense to me because then you can actually see where the mistakes and markings are so you know where to fix mistakes! People need to stop being so freaking sensitive about everything. Coddling your kids all the way through school isn't going to do shit for them. If they're doing bad then they're doing bad and you're not helping them by making it easier for them to handle.

Here's the link if anyone wants to read the article to make sure I'm not bullshitting...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1101790/Teachers-banned-using-confrontational-red-ink-case-upsets-children.html

 

[Tartarga]

It's at times like this I wish I had the "I don't want to live on this planet anymore" image.

 

[cryogeist]

...I'm sorry what?
it seems both America and the UK have both done some stupid things to their school system... (not trying to troll that's just what it looks like is happening)

 

[Ionait]

When I was in middle school I was told that people learn better with different colors, and red is one of those colors that help out. My French teacher used to write on the white-board with a red marker at all times because of that. Odd. I've never researched it myself though.

 

[Thaluikhain]

They had that (sorta) at certain private schools in Queensland. However, the rule only applied in specific cases where the student would actually be affected by that colour, which presumably must have happened at least once.

I attribute this to the half-orangutan, half-stationery themed supervillains Queensland had a few years back.

...

Also, might want to check sources for this. Various newspapers like making this sort of stuff up, (same way they pretend kids have to sing PC nursery rhymes and stuff), in order to run a scare campaign against what they see as the left-wing dominance of the nation, or whatever.

 

[Samurai Silhouette]

Soon the stop lights will be grey because red incites panic in .000000000000000001% of the population.

 

[Cazza]

Heard that green is the best colour for giving feedback. It stands out because it's not blue or black and it's not red.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

My teachers use red ink for correct answers as well... Why is everything so overly sensitive. If I went out and insulted every person in the universe then they would live. Who cares if someone takes offense, its called being a human.

 

[lacktheknack]

Soon the stop lights will be grey because red incites panic in .000000000000000001% of the population.

So, red incites panic in about 0.000000003% of a person?

Sounds right.

 

[tombman888]

Thats just... i have no remark.

On a related not: Back when i did History class, my teacher told us that a large amount of people who wrote in green pen had mental problems. (Ie: they were crazy)

 

[chaosyoshimage]

I thought the asinine reason behind this would have to do with people that faint at the site of blood. Guess not...

 

[Samurai Silhouette]

Soon the stop lights will be grey because red incites panic in .000000000000000001% of the population.

So, red incites panic in about 0.000000003% of a person?

Sounds right.

The obvious oversight only proves my point. It's not very effective.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

I.... don't see the problem with this. I honestly don't. Red ink is used for Fear factor. Red is the color of danger after all. That's the only reason its used. It says: "You fucked up son. You fucked up bad. Now I'm gonna fuck you up!".

It's a classic remnant of the traditional/old-fashioned education system (there's a word for that, I'm sure); the system that scoffs at modern teaching practices like peer-discussion based education and gamification of education. It's a 500 year old practice that's designed to embarrass kids for their mistakes instead of helping them learn from their mistakes.

What I'm trying to say is, traditional/old-fashioned education sucks, in my opinion at least. If they have any kind of reason to believe that getting rid of red ink will help kids feel more attached to schoolwork, and less like a slave of the educational system: Fucking, TRY that shit OUT! Experiment until you find a definitive answer, or something close to that. If it works out: FANTASTIC! We just evolved a little bit as a sapient race.

Also, I don't know if I should be disappointed that so many of you sound like bitter old coots yelling "Those darn kids! We're making them soft! In my day, the teacher used to get out the red pen.....and beat the ever-loving FUCK out of us!! They deserve the same, not better!"

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

This all began when we started to put Self-Esteem over Self-Respect. I think we need to bring back the old days where Darwin's Evolutionary Theory was king, and if you couldn't survive a day in the wild you were useless to society as a whole; lets start with the Social Workers and Self-Esteem Supporting Teachers/Headmasters STARTING NOW.

 

[4173]

Woopdi-fucking-doo. If they think it might benefit some students, go for it. It might work, it might not, but it's ink. It is as low risk as can be.

I wish I was kidding about this, but some schools in the U.K. have actually prohibited teachers from using red ink pens when correcting student assignments. They say the red ink is "demoralizing to students" and "making them do worse in school." Are you freaking kidding me?! Red ink makes sense to me because then you can actually see where the mistakes and markings are so you know where to fix mistakes! People need to stop being so freaking sensitive about everything. Coddling your kids all the way through school isn't going to do shit for them. If they're doing bad then they're doing bad and you're not helping them by making it easier for them to handle.

Indeed, we should skip the ink entirely and just tattoo "big fucking failure" on their forehead. That'll learn them.

The point isn't to make them feel better about their mistakes. I don't think it is a stretch to say that a bunch of red marks send a different message (this is a pile of shit you ignorant asshat) than green (these areas need attention). By making the mistakes easier to handle, they can actually address them instead of viewing them as insurmountable and giving up.

This isn't about coddling, it is about creating an environment that enhances learning.

Hypothetically.

 

[evilneko]

I'm American and even I know not to take the UK's Daily Mail seriously. The Onion has a better record of truthiness.

 

[Nurb]

Is there no moderate nation anymore? The US is too conservative in a lot of places but a lot of western Europe is much too liberal. It's like there's no common sense middleground to be had.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

If I went out and insulted every person in the universe then they would live. Who cares if someone takes offense, its called being a human.

There's already someone doing that, they became immortal after an accident with a few rubber bands and a particle accelerator, and after millenia of total boredom, he decided to insult everyone in the entire universe in alphabetical order.
(Cookie for reference)