Schools begin banning teachers from using red ink

[beniki]

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.

No. By doing this we are creating an environment where making mistakes is seen as bad, and something to be avoided, and even kept secret. That does not help learning. Kids need to learn that making mistakes is ok, as long as you fix it.

Red is clear. Red means stop, danger, or beef if it's Oxo. Green means continue, this is ok, or vegetable. I will not teach vegetables.

The failure is not in the colour of the pen, it's in the way making mistakes is interpreted. It's up to the teacher to reinforce the idea that making mistakes is ok, and that things can be fixed. Not that potential problems should be avoided or hidden.

Yes, I'm a teacher. Yes I use a red pen for marking. No, I won't stop using it... unless I happen to lose it somewhere.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

Wha...huh...*shakes head* Good god, people are stupid. As it was said above, red is used because YOU CAN EASILY SEE THE ERRORS It's not demoralizing. Your shitty performance in school is demoralizing, not some damn colored marker.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

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)

Fable 3. I want that game.

OT: Red stands out. You are meant to feel like you didn't do good because you... didn't.

 

[McMullen]

Well, eventually we'll run out of cultural and societal bars to lower, and then perhaps these people will petition the laws of physics to be a little less harsh. Perhaps when they find that the second law of thermodynamics doesn't care about its effect on morale, they'll realize that maybe they've been going the wrong way.

Actually, no, because by then wrongness will have been abolished.

Oh well.

 

[pearcinator]

I'm studying to be a primary school teacher and this doesn't surprise me...you wouldn't believe the amount of bullshit 'demoralizers' there are.

For example, when providing constructive (i.e. negative) feedback teachers are not supposed to say the child's name because that would be 'demoralizing!'. For example,

'I am disappointed that you didn't do you're work' instead of
'Johnny, It is disappointing to see that you didn't complete your work'

For some reason I am told that children would react negatively to this and blame themselves and become worse and still won't do their work. I call bullshit. The reason why students aren't doing their work is because they dont LIKE doing it. Find something the kids can enjoy and they will do it.

The red pen nonsense is stupid. Red is just a colour and in no way demoralizing...it's clearer to use red pen when students write in blue or black.

 

[Draconalis]

Wait! They are banning red ink?

Is it because all the bulls were getting angry and trampling the kids?!

What's going on? I wasn't actually paying any attention.

 

[infohippie]

Is there no moderate nation anymore? The US is too conservative in a lot of places but a lot of western Europe is almost liberal enough, if only they'd go just a bit further.

Fixed that for you. Not that you could include Britain in the liberal part of Europe, they're very nearly as conservative as America.

OT: Sounds a pretty stupid idea to me. If I were a teacher I'd like to teach my class something like "Purple is the colour of shame" and then go mark all their papers in purple pen. Most of the antisocial problems with "da yoof" in Britain seem to me to stem from entitlement issues. They seem to think they "deserve better" because they're "special".

 

[Crazycat690]

Geez, soon they wont even bother sending kids to school, because there is a possibility they will do badly... George Carlin is lucky to be dead, his head would have exploded from this

Not everyone are winners duwdees!

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Well, red IS a psychologically aggressive colour. We're trained to consider it alarming, so this makes as much sense as not letting teachers swear at students who misbehave.

Outright banning seems a bit...overboard, but it's probably best that red ink be discouraged. Green would be a good alternative.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Red is clear. Red means stop, danger, or beef if it's Oxo. Green means continue, this is ok, or vegetable. I will not teach vegetables.

I like that comparison to Oxo containers. I like it a lot.

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)

Fable 3. I want that game.

OT: Red stands out. You are meant to feel like you didn't do good because you... didn't.

Well, I was referring to a character from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, http://hhgproject.org/entries/wowbagger.html
but I've never played Fable 3 so I don't really know how legitimate your claim is, so I can't give you a cookie but how about some shortbread as a booby prize:

 

[DarthSka]

I would make a Futurama reference, but I can see that an action of that type is unnecessary now. But I also take offense to this considering red is my favorite color. I guess I'm just too demoralizing for society to handle.

 

[Aprilgold]

Well, red IS a psychologically aggressive colour. We're trained to consider it alarming, so this makes as much sense as not letting teachers swear at students who misbehave.

Outright banning seems a bit...overboard, but it's probably best that red ink be discouraged. Green would be a good alternative.

Or, you know, not using letter grades, but a number of EXP and if the whole class gets enough EXP to LEVEL UP then they get a field trip, how about that?

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Well, red IS a psychologically aggressive colour. We're trained to consider it alarming, so this makes as much sense as not letting teachers swear at students who misbehave.

Outright banning seems a bit...overboard, but it's probably best that red ink be discouraged. Green would be a good alternative.

Or, you know, not using letter grades, but a number of EXP and if the whole class gets enough EXP to LEVEL UP then they get a field trip, how about that?

Yes, or we could focus on quality education and proper teaching. All of these changes are just gimmicks that would have little effect. A good teacher who knows what he/she is doing goes a long way.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

People need to stop getting offended at everything.

 

[Nurb]

Is there no moderate nation anymore? The US is too conservative in a lot of places but a lot of western Europe is almost liberal enough, if only they'd go just a bit further.

Fixed that for you. Not that you could include Britain in the liberal part of Europe, they're very nearly as conservative as America.

I beg to differ

Spoiler: Ahem

 

[Aprilgold]

Well, red IS a psychologically aggressive colour. We're trained to consider it alarming, so this makes as much sense as not letting teachers swear at students who misbehave.

Outright banning seems a bit...overboard, but it's probably best that red ink be discouraged. Green would be a good alternative.

Or, you know, not using letter grades, but a number of EXP and if the whole class gets enough EXP to LEVEL UP then they get a field trip, how about that?

Yes, or we could focus on quality education and proper teaching. All of these changes are just gimmicks that would have little effect. A good teacher who knows what he/she is doing goes a long way.

OR WE COULD DO ALL OF THE ABOVE! For what Teachers that get paid for what they do, they don't get enough to actually do what they want to do.

 

[Yopaz]

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)

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy reference, I think this is from the 4th book in the series? Great stuff, haven't read them for years.

Banning red ink seems dumb. If they don't want to demoralize the kids maybe they should tell them all they're right? That would make them feel better about their results. When I was in high school and I got a B with no notes or comments I would get annoyed because I didn't know what I could have done better.

 

[Snotnarok]

The future is going to have a lot of depression and overly sensitive people if parents keep fucking babying their kids.

Yeah it sucks to see red ink on something you thought you did well on, but it also sucks to see a pink slip if you get let go from your job. Will making the pink slip yellow be better? Hold on I'll print you out a less demoralizing one for you. But you're still fired.

 

[tzimize]

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.

So a pile of green would make a student more motivated? What a load of crap. The only reason red has negative connotations is because it has been used a long time for correcting mistakes, and thus the color in schoolwork is connected to bad work/mistakes.

The problem is NOT the color. The problem is that people panic when they do a mistake. A mistake is simply an opportunity for learning. If we could teach THAT to kids...school would be a lot better. Mistakes are not dangerous! They are supposed to be there! If students never made mistakes, it would only prove that the work they did was too easy!

Donald Foster once said: "No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar."

When we do work correctly we are not challenged, if we are not challenged we do not evolve. Mistakes are a part of the learning experience, and are usually what we learn FROM. Red, green, purple pen...who the fuck cares?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Very well. I never liked using red ink anyway. I use GREEN! One of my favorite quotes when a fellow student got her writing sample back from me: "I got my paper back and I went, 'Oh my God! It's bleeding green!'" She said it with a big smile on her face.

Anyway, don't really see the point. So teachers will just switch to another color until that gets banned. Let me know when they ban black ink. Then things will get really interesting.