Schools begin banning teachers from using red ink
- Thread starter Rin Little
- Start date
They seriously need to stop trying to "fix" education with moronic crap. The best resource any child has to improve there education is there parents and its there job to help reinforce the material being taught in class and provide a happy and healthy home environment that will allow the child to be productive in class. Most kids fail to engage the school material because they do not learn at home and do not receive the encouragement from there parents when they do well in school. School becomes boring and feels unimportant because the actions of the parents convey the message that school is uninteresting and the material you gain (knowledge) isn't important and only the grade really matters (and if you only care about the grade then you don't really learn much of anything and if you have trouble with a subject then your far more likely to give up and accept a lesser grade).
I'm a teacher, and I can see this going either way.
On the one hand, it's important to experiment and avoid stagnating the education process. Just because grading with red ink is traditional doesn't make it right. So, saying that "there's nothing wrong with grading in red because that's how it was done for years" doesn't hold water. Tradition for the sake of tradition is meaningless. If we aren't willing to try new things, we may never find the improvements that are the basis of positive progress.
On the other hand, those who argue that this is just one more step in the "watering-down" of education and focusing on the "self-esteem" of the student above other things probably have a point. The amount of defensiveness and "us vs. them" mentality that exists between parents and schools is ridiculous. I'm fortunate to work at a school where parents and teachers generally have good rapport, but the general state of the American education system is marred by a very strong mentality that teachers are "out to get students." That parents have to be ready to jump in and defend their child from being demoralized by the school system. To many parents, their child's short-term "happy good feelings" are more important than long-term educational success and character-building.
I will concede that red does say "warning! danger! watch out!" and you know what? That might not be a bad thing. It draws attention to the mistake. The best response to making a mistake is realize the mistake, humble yourself to it, and resolve to not make the same mistake again. But a lot of people don't think that way. They would rather lash out at the person who is accusing them of the mistake and tell said accuser that they are wrong, that there is no mistake.
While this ink thing is not really a big deal in and of itself, I would say that it may be a symptom of a greater problem. The want of students, parents, and people in general to feel good short-term and never have to let go of their pride rather than open their perspective to long-term growth.
On the one hand, it's important to experiment and avoid stagnating the education process. Just because grading with red ink is traditional doesn't make it right. So, saying that "there's nothing wrong with grading in red because that's how it was done for years" doesn't hold water. Tradition for the sake of tradition is meaningless. If we aren't willing to try new things, we may never find the improvements that are the basis of positive progress.
On the other hand, those who argue that this is just one more step in the "watering-down" of education and focusing on the "self-esteem" of the student above other things probably have a point. The amount of defensiveness and "us vs. them" mentality that exists between parents and schools is ridiculous. I'm fortunate to work at a school where parents and teachers generally have good rapport, but the general state of the American education system is marred by a very strong mentality that teachers are "out to get students." That parents have to be ready to jump in and defend their child from being demoralized by the school system. To many parents, their child's short-term "happy good feelings" are more important than long-term educational success and character-building.
I will concede that red does say "warning! danger! watch out!" and you know what? That might not be a bad thing. It draws attention to the mistake. The best response to making a mistake is realize the mistake, humble yourself to it, and resolve to not make the same mistake again. But a lot of people don't think that way. They would rather lash out at the person who is accusing them of the mistake and tell said accuser that they are wrong, that there is no mistake.
While this ink thing is not really a big deal in and of itself, I would say that it may be a symptom of a greater problem. The want of students, parents, and people in general to feel good short-term and never have to let go of their pride rather than open their perspective to long-term growth.
There was talk about this at my old High school. All I could say was "Grow a fucking pair." Everyone has to be nice and friendly nowadays, but sometimes you just have to come out and tell a kid, "You suck, get better."
For me, lots of red ink meant "Get your game face on and kick ass..." Whats next? Teachers have to spend 3 weeks on simple multiplication and division because people think its too hard for children over the age of 12? The education systems need a swift boot up the ass, for real. I'm in college now, and while professurs don't tell you right out that you suck, they recomend that if you are failing you should either drop, or step up your game and take it seriously. If only more high school teachers were like that.Rin Little said:
Fucking demoralizing? You know why it is... because you got the answeres wrooooonnnnnggggg. Not because it's red. It's because you didn't know the right goddamn answer.
Stuff like this is why a high school degree is not worth the paper it's printed on and the Ass degree is following. We have stuff like it in the states.
Red is my favorite color.
Clearly if I had kept seeing red in school, I would have thought I was doing well. I would have wanted to fail just so I could see the red on my paper. I would have wanted to wear red, to eat red, to taste red, to bleed red!
Clearly red ink on homework indicates societies that breed psychotic murderers. I don't want our school system breeding psychotic murderers...do you?
Boring sarcasm aside, I am glad that schools in the UK are now appealing to the education and enlightenment of bulls. It's about time our bovine brothers go to class without fear of becoming enraged and bloodthirsty at the sight of their math grades.
Clearly if I had kept seeing red in school, I would have thought I was doing well. I would have wanted to fail just so I could see the red on my paper. I would have wanted to wear red, to eat red, to taste red, to bleed red!
Clearly red ink on homework indicates societies that breed psychotic murderers. I don't want our school system breeding psychotic murderers...do you?
Boring sarcasm aside, I am glad that schools in the UK are now appealing to the education and enlightenment of bulls. It's about time our bovine brothers go to class without fear of becoming enraged and bloodthirsty at the sight of their math grades.
I KNEW my drawing would come in handy for a thread like this!
Oh Kyubey. For once you're the voice of reason.
About two weeks ago I got a math test back. 76. He marked the SHIT out of it, and I saw every single thing I got wrong. I felt bad, but fortunately I'd done all my work, so I went to tutoring so I can qualify for a retest this Friday. He tells us to mark each others homework in red ink too. I'm pretty sure he does it so we can see our mistakes. He makes us write in pencil so we can fix our mistakes.
Seriously, Education system. Grow some balls. These kids can take a bad grade. I saw I guy get a 51 and he didn't freak out. I'm not sure about his parents though...
Oh Kyubey. For once you're the voice of reason.
About two weeks ago I got a math test back. 76. He marked the SHIT out of it, and I saw every single thing I got wrong. I felt bad, but fortunately I'd done all my work, so I went to tutoring so I can qualify for a retest this Friday. He tells us to mark each others homework in red ink too. I'm pretty sure he does it so we can see our mistakes. He makes us write in pencil so we can fix our mistakes.
Seriously, Education system. Grow some balls. These kids can take a bad grade. I saw I guy get a 51 and he didn't freak out. I'm not sure about his parents though...
That's just retarded, it's only red pen it just stands out is all, I hate the daily mail as well
SillyBear said:
PhoenixFlame said:
But I never said anything about coddling. Coddling is counter-productive of course. It spawns entitled dipshits, I agree......what does that have to do with red ink? You can critique someone's essay with any color in the rainbow/sharpie spectrum. The benefit of not using red, imo, is that it doesn't seem like every word you're saying is a death threat to the students' loved ones.CriticKitten said:
Look, I'm for this because as a good, but rebellious student, I know I've waved off red-marked criticism tons of times, because I thought of it as "Mr.Senile's bullshit technicalities that I don't want to pay attention to". Was it right to do that? Absolutely not. Am I the only one who does do that? NO fucking Way! Students like me take constructive criticism MUCH better, when the teacher isn't hiding behind a color-coded veneer of arbitrary power and feelings of supremacy. I take constructive criticism from teachers who tell me, through their markings: "I am not on a higher level of existence, that you cannot hope to grasp with your inferior mind. I am, rather, a human being, just like you. However I am Waaay more experienced than you are on this subject; so let me tell you where and how you are wrong, so you can get better at it."
Call me naive for looking at this from the perspective of the group of people it's supposed to help. I have no other perspective. If that makes me some kind of ignorant ass to you.....well then you're probably one of the educators who are, imo, part of the problem. I mean no disrespect; but I always hated teachers like you, with your sense of superiority and egotism over students. I would mock you from the back of the class on the few days I would show up, and then prevent you from failing me by getting a 97% on the term exam (without cheating) JUST to spite you. I literally did just that with a few of my old teachers, I can do it with you.
On another note, we have also stopped issuing grades below "A" and have stopped all types of competition between students, be them sports or ordinary arguments or fights.
We wouldn't want the students to lose these arguments or get low grades and lose self-esteem, now would we?
We wouldn't want the students to lose these arguments or get low grades and lose self-esteem, now would we?
I can agree with this. Today we did a test on Operating Systems in College and most people failed, and there was red used (on the computer to show you the wrong answers) noone was demoralized or annoyed, just saying damn this was hard I gotta try better next timeKuroneko97 said:I KNEW my drawing would come in handy for a thread like this!
Oh Kyubey. For once you're the voice of reason.
About two weeks ago I got a math test back. 76. He marked the SHIT out of it, and I saw every single thing I got wrong. I felt bad, but fortunately I'd done all my work, so I went to tutoring so I can qualify for a retest this Friday. He tells us to mark each others homework in red ink too. I'm pretty sure he does it so we can see our mistakes. He makes us write in pencil so we can fix our mistakes.
Seriously, Education system. Grow some balls. These kids can take a bad grade. I saw I guy get a 51 and he didn't freak out. I'm not sure about his parents though...
So uhh what the fuck is with this stupid rule
Also lol at that drawing
The ink is indeed red for reasons of being easy to spot, which is what you're supposed to do with corrections. Spot and fix mistakes, it's called learning for a reason...
The only way it can be demoralizing is when the teacher writes that you suck. And that's equally shitty in any colour ink!
The only way it can be demoralizing is when the teacher writes that you suck. And that's equally shitty in any colour ink!
And you're going about it wrong by assuming that the red ink is a power play. It's a commonly available color that stands out against blue ink, black ink, and pencil. It means "you got this wrong, and I'm showing you so you can learn from the mistake." As for what you were saying earlier about a 500 year old system that exists to humiliate students, it's nothing of the sort. Old fashioned teaching techniques have been around for a long time for a reason; they work. All this focus on teachers being "learning facilitators" who are supposed to be equal to the students, instead of authority figures who have special knowledge to be passed on? That is a sign of the decline of the educational system. It's one thing for a teacher to admit that he or she doesn't know everything. It's something else entirely for the teacher to know nothing, or to know no more than the students do. There's a word for teachers like that: it's unqualified. As in "if you don't know this stuff, you are unqualified to teach this subject."GrizzlerBorno said:
Now I know that sounds like it plays right into what you were saying about how teachers act like they know everything and you know nothing. But that's not how it works. A well qualified teacher is one who knows more about the subject they're teaching than the students. Their job is to impart that knowledge to the students. It's not a case of "I know more than you ever will." It's a case of "I know more than you do right now. Let's fix that."
You do all realize this is based on a legitimate study on the effects of color on the human psyche? It's the same reason mental wards are painted green. If you see red before a test, statistically speaking, you'll do worse on it. I could really care less what color people grade in.
Look, here's a study.
http://psp.sagepub.com/content/34/11/1530.short
Edit: Big fail on my part. Didn't realize you'd have to buy a membership to the site to read the full study. The abstract is still there though.
Look, here's a study.
http://psp.sagepub.com/content/34/11/1530.short
Edit: Big fail on my part. Didn't realize you'd have to buy a membership to the site to read the full study. The abstract is still there though.
My Earth Science teacher always used green. It's a nice color, and also my favorite.
I pretty much just always believed most teachers used red to make their marks stand out, so no one was confused and you could easily identify the question you answered incorrectly. It never seemed like they were confirming their overall godlike teacher powers over the students by slashing away with red marker, or belittling them. Red is just the teachers mark.
Meh, as long as the next color they choose for kid-friendliness isn't confusing to anyone,... *[small]whispers: use green[/small]*
I pretty much just always believed most teachers used red to make their marks stand out, so no one was confused and you could easily identify the question you answered incorrectly. It never seemed like they were confirming their overall godlike teacher powers over the students by slashing away with red marker, or belittling them. Red is just the teachers mark.
Meh, as long as the next color they choose for kid-friendliness isn't confusing to anyone,... *[small]whispers: use green[/small]*