I was guessing pink would be the replacement, but purple was a close second. Some parents raising a stink over teachers' use of red ink So, in an attempt to avoid 'negative' colors, educators are opting to grade with purple pens By BEN FELLER Associated Press WASHINGTON - Of all the things that can make a person see red, school principal Gail Karwoski was not expecting parents to get huffy about, well, seeing red. At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn., Karwoski's teachers grade papers by giving examples of better answers for those students who make mistakes. But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red, the color that teachers long have used to grade work. Parents objected. Red writing, they said, was "stressful." The principal said teachers were just giving constructive advice and the color of ink used to convey that message should not matter. But some parents could not let it go. So the school put red on the blacklist. Blue and other colors are in. "It's not an argument we want to have at this point because what we need is the parents' understanding," Karwoski said. "The color of the message should not be the issue." In many other schools, the color red has become so symbolic of negativity that some principals and teachers will not touch it. "You could hold up a paper that says, 'Great work!' and it won't even matter if it's written in red," said Joseph Foriska, principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary in Pittsburgh. He has instructed his teachers to grade with more "pleasant-feeling tones" so that their instructional messages do not come across as derogatory. At Public School 188 in Manhattan, 25-year-old teacher Justin Kazmark grades with purple, which has emerged as a new color of choice for many educators, pen manufacturers confirm. "My generation was brought up on right or wrong with no in between, and red was always in your face," Kazmark said. "It's abrasive to me."
Some parents just not be able to handle the fact that their kids aren't perfect. It amazes me that some parents are incapable of saying no to their kids. How in the world could the color of ink cause stress? Are you kidding me? If I was a teacher or principal and a parent told me that red ink caused them stress, I would be tempted to tell them a thing or too that would definately cause them stress.
Red ink probably toughens them up for the inevitable moment when they have to deal with the fact that they're morons.
My wife is pregnant with our first child. I saw this article yesterday. The first thing I asked my wife after reading it was that she kill me if I ever complain about something like this.
Congrats. Our 1st is 19 months and I find myself talking like my old man did back in the early 1980s ("if those darn kids don't stop playing on my lawn Im gonna take a switch to em"). So prepare yourself ................
Exactly. Soon you'll see parents saying that marking a child's answer as "inncorrect" (no matter what ink color) is stressful and must be put to a stop.
I took that article to my Critical Thinking class yesterday. On the spur of the moment, I changed the text of one paragraph to red and said, "now, does that make you mad"? Same with changing one to purple and seeing if it made them happier. They like other colors than red because they're new and look pretty, but not because they work better. Most of them believe that sometimes you need to be graded on things, whatever the color of ink, whether it hurts your feelings or not. Also, that you can write positive comments to offset the negative comments... in any color.
If a parent sees too much red ink, it means your kid isn't doing well in school! It doesn't mean b**** at the principal! WTF!!!
I edit my colleague's work everyday and I use red ink to the point that I have to have separate boxes of red pens ordered especially for me. If any of my colleague's ever complain that I'm putting too much red ink on their work when I edit it, they'll get a swift kick in the ass. Plus, I think they'd be more upset about the curse words I write all up and down the margins because I get fed up with their horrendous writing ability.
At the first opportunity, I'll have to complain when my kid's teacher doesn't use red ink. Then what are they going to do? leroy, congrats, but I expect you and I both are doomed to go crazy. My daughter is only 3 months right now and I haven't yet noticed any insanity on my part (... of course, will I ever notice?). But, it has been my experience that parents are the craziest and most ridiculous people you'd ever meet, so I think it is just a matter of time before I succumb. Maybe when I think they aren't so bad after all, I'll know it's over.
I occasionally create Pc training flash movies here at work to help educate the end user on normal everyday pc tips that would help them. I once had one of my "shows" rejected because during the interactivity portion of the show I used red as the color of my "Try Again" pop ups which indicates the user had done that particular exercise wrong. The reason it was rejected was because I had used the color red. I made no changes other than making the try again pop up blue and resubmitted and it was published susequently on the company website; so I can relate.
Parents are too damn soft these days. If the kid does something bad, he should meet the consequences. Spank them if need be. Otherwise they will grow up to be lil b****es who cry if they dont get things their way. Seriously...parents beat your kids if need be.
