Red is too stressful!

The BBQ Pit
1

Oh, excuse me while I lay the back of my hand against my forehead and collapse gracefully on a chaise lounge!

Quick, someone bring me my smelling salts!

Teachers in Connecticut school stop using red ink to grade papers because of parent complaints.

Holy crap. Jeez, parents, get a grip. What happens when your kids start driving, and they see a red light!

Here’s a tip. Instead of worrying about the color of the ink…look at your child’s homework and help them figure out why they got it wrong!!

:smack:

2

Any bets on how long it will be till purple becomes too stressful for the poor frail little darlings? Will orange be the next choice, only to be abandoned when the sight of Halloween pumpkins sends the tykes into hysterics?

When red is outlawed, only outlaws will have read! :eek:

3

I was going to make my own pit thread, but I might as well semi-hijack this one. At the tutoring center I work at, we write down notes during the child’s session with examples of questions the child had difficulty with. We also write positive things about the day, so it is not all fire-and-brimstone.

We write in neutral black pen, but that isn’t the point here. Recently I was asked by one of my managers to stop using the word ‘Challenges’, as in ‘Math Challenges’. She said that the word challenge had negative connotations and that they wanted to be more positive about feedback. Now I know we’re a business, trying to keep members and gain more every day, but sheesh! If a child is struggling in something, I believe the parent ought to know (by reading the notes) what their child had trouble in, and what kind of things he needs to focus on. We want them to enjoy coming in to get tutored, but come on, this isn’t a carnival, people. They’re here to improve themselves, and I personally don’t believe you can improve very well unless someone is (brutally) honest with you every once in a while. The notes are for the parents, not the kids, but the manager is tailoring it so that the kid doesn’t “feel bad/put down” :rolleyes:

4

This is really stupid. I used to teach, and red is a very practical color to use when grading. Students never use the color, so it really stands out when you’re tallying points. It’s really the only color an instructor can safely use. I’ve known students to use black, blue, purple, and green ink for their assignments.

I did team grading with a few other instructors, and one of them insisted on using green ink instead of red. On several occasions, his marks got overlooked, and it screwed up the grading.

5

Wait–you can’t use “challanged?” When I was in school (not too damn long ago) “challanged” was the PC lovey-dovey super cuddly let’s-not-frighten-the-horses term for “your kid’s dumb.” Now “challanged” is outdated? WTF?

6

You know, these kids are going to get a rude awakening when they get into the workforce and their boss doesn’t call failings “challenges” and may actually be honest and forthright about pointing out problems! (Excuse me, issues)

7

I just IMed the OP’s link to a coworker of mine, and I think his comment sums it all up.

“We are turning into a nation of wusses.”

8

That illustrates EddyTeddyFreddy’s point perfectly. Challenge was supposed to be the gentle alternative to problem.

Sheesh.

9

For those interested to see how things have developed, an older thread on the topic.

10

If I were a teacher in that Connecticut school, I’d start using a brown marker to grade papers.

11

Maybe this is just getting some news, but when I was teaching in 1985 this topic was discussed with us by the University and they recommended we use green markers.

12

Shit, yeah, this has been going on for years; at least 10, since I started teaching. I now use stories about it - and they are many - as a guide for schools or school boards who really don’t have a clue what the hell they’re supposed to be doing.