### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/1 "2004-08-23T23:42:06Z")
[Purple pens](http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/08/23/harshness_of_red_marks_has_students_seeing_purple/).
Why? Because red is too “harsh.”
> [@](#):
>
> When it comes to correcting papers and grading tests, purple is emerging as the new red.
>
> “If you see a whole paper of red, it looks pretty frightening,” said Sharon Carlson, a health and physical education teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton. “Purple stands out, but it doesn’t look as scary as red.”
>
> That’s the cue pen makers and office supply superstores say they have gotten from teachers as the $15 billion back-to-school retail season kicks off. They say focus groups and conversations with teachers have led them to conclude that a growing number of the nation’s educators are switching to purple, a color they perceive as “friendlier” than red.
>
> \
>
> The concept of purple as a replacement for red is a pretty good idea," said Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, N.J., and author of five books on color. "You soften the blow of red. Red is a bit over-the-top in its aggression.
Whatever happened to actually _teaching_ akid something instead of catering to their fuck self-esteems? I say FUCK their self-esteems. Nobody gave a shit about our self-esteem in my day and we were a lot better for it. I can remember when even the stupid kids knew how to read.
I may be a bleeding heart liberal but I’m a dyed in the wool hard ass when it comes to educating children.
“Red is over the top in it’s aggression.” Are you fucking kidding me? NO, 9/11 was over the top in it’s agression. The DC snipers were over the top in their aggression. Red is just a fucking color.
I blame coddling parents. They’re so afraid to subject their precious little bastards to anything unpleasant. Their idiot kid gets spells eleven words wrong out of ten? It’s the teacher’s fault with all that nasty red ink. It makes Jason/Amber/Heather/Parker/Dylan _feel_ bad. Well Heather can kiss my ass, mom and dad, try making her do some fucking homework.
I spent a couple of years working in the school system. I’ve taught elementary school kids. I’ve graded 2nd Grade spelling tests in which some kids could not successfully spell their own names. I am not exaggerating. I used red ink. I used a lot of it. If I have to do it again I’m going to find the loudest, brightest, thickest most “aggressively” RED magic marker in existence, and I will CHEERFULLY blanket those tests with my corrections.
Here’s a clue, kid. If you don’t want to get red corrections, don’t give me anything to correct. The antodote to red ink is a little bit of _study_. Works every time.
[As an aside to this, I used to have a habit of drawing smiley faces on the tests of kidss who did well. I was told to stop doing this because it would make the kids who didn’t get smileys feel bad. I kept doing it anyway. Achievement is worth something]
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### Author:  [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/2 "2004-08-23T23:53:10Z")
Amen, brother Dio!
Last semester, I took a course in media writing. This was a required prerequisite for communications/journalism students to take before they went on to their professional-emphasis writing course.
The second day, we traded papers. I didn’t hold back; the paper I got to mark was awful. Too long by about half, clumsily written, bad spelling; the list goes on. I “slit my wrist” over the thing. In the real world, I won’t have time to re-write lousy press releases. She threw a hissy fit and gave me the cold shoulder for the rest of the semester.
She’s now the president of the Public Relations Students Society of America chapter. If she doesn’t learn to write, all of her releases will be shit-canned. I guess her widdle feewings are more important than being able to write. FTR, her writing never got much better as the semester went on.
Robin
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/3 "2004-08-23T23:58:31Z")
Fuckin A, right on!
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### Author:  [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/4 "2004-08-23T23:59:49Z")
Red is a color. Purple is a color. It’s a fucking color. The kid screws up, they get corrected, we move on.
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### Author:  [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/5 "2004-08-24T00:15:59Z")
The world has gone nuts.
> **[You can't have 'hard-working' staff](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=310617&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=)**
>
> When Pauline Millican wanted to hire a receptionist for her family's busy opticians practice, she thought it reasonable to include the phrase 'hard-working' in the advert. But when she phoned the vacancy through to a Jobcentre she was shocked to be...
We mustn’t make anyone “feel bad”. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/6 "2004-08-24T00:19:05Z")
Eh, as long as it produces lifetime learners with high self-esteem it gets an A in my book. 😛
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### Author:  [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/7 "2004-08-24T00:22:24Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#):
>
> …We mustn’t make anyone “feel bad”. :rolleyes:
> [@Link](#):
>
> In the politically correct world of the workplace, it seems, it is wrong to discriminate against lazy people
Where can I find a work place like that?
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### Author:  [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/8 "2004-08-24T00:30:18Z")
[sub]One of the SDMB teachers checking in[/sub]
I’ve heard this ridiculous argument before. Heck, it’s a fairly recent thing, and I’m fairly new to teaching (although I’m about to start my 8th year…eep!)–so this was actually something I read in textbooks and discussed in graduate-level courses. And I’ll say without shame:
I grade with red pens. :eek:
Of course, I also grade with blue…green…black…yes, even purple…whatever fine-tipped marker is in my purse/desk/schoolbag/pocket at the time I pull out the pile of papers.
Seeing red is “traumatic.” Yeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh. Everyone–teachers, parents, and students–just needs to get over that one. Sheezo.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/9 "2004-08-24T00:34:26Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#):
>
> Eh, as long as it produces lifetime learners with high self-esteem it gets an A in my book. 😛
Of course the irony is all this bullshit will fuck the children up more then the original way we’re “protecting” them from.
The cure is worse then the disease.
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### Author:  [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/10 "2004-08-24T00:38:33Z")
My boss at the learning enhancement center asked me not to use a red pen when looking over students’ papers. She said that it makes the students defensive and puts them in “me vs them” mode and it makes it difficult to actually tutor them. I have no idea if this is the case–I only use blue pens myself–but her concern was making an environment that’s comfortable for learning seperate from the class room setting. And hey, these are all college students here.
I’m not surprised that “logic” has carried over _into_ the classroom.
I will say that if people want to make students comfortable learning and actually succeed, they’re going to have to do something a hell of a lot more drastic than changing pen colors.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/11 "2004-08-24T00:39:34Z")
How exactly is this an issue of political correctness?
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### Author:  [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/12 "2004-08-24T00:45:16Z")
As a young teacher of freshman composition, I too was advised to avoid red pens: you can say the same in green or purple without raising the spectre of the knuckle-rapping grammarian schoolmarm, or so went the thinking.
This was in 1989. Does that count as recent?
I don’t teach anymore, but I always graded essays in pencil. I made a lot of comments in the margins, and often thought better of a comment upon rereading. So it was helpful to erase.
None of the foregoing has anything to do with political correctness (whatever that is) anyway.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/13 "2004-08-24T00:46:09Z")
Bahhhhhhh…green biros have been around for decades, and have been used consistently by many teachers…because…
I’ve heard of many requests to not use red biros. The end result is always because it’s unpredictable on a photocopier. Fuck-all to do with offending people.
Oh, and you can add a few self-important under-qualified ‘experts’ into the equation.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/14 "2004-08-24T00:49:01Z")
> [@Aesiron](#):
>
> How exactly is this an issue of political correctness?
By the strict definition of the phrase, nothing.
But the PC label has expanded beyond its original meaning to encompass social trends and attitudes which emphasize superficial messages or remedies over substance. I meant it in that sense.
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### Author:  [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/15 "2004-08-24T00:49:19Z")
**Diogenes** , a very good effort, very descriptive. Next time, try not to quote from someone else so much, it’s your work that I’m interested in reading! You need to work on your paragraph structure (remember, more than one sentence), and “bad” is an adjective, you should have used the adverb form “badly.” Keep up the good work!!!
Well, somebody had to do it.
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### Author:  [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/16 "2004-08-24T00:50:38Z")
> [@Aesiron](#):
>
> How exactly is this an issue of political correctness?
Because, instead of finding a solution to the problem of lousy writing, teachers are being told to substitute pen colors so as to reduce the stigma of so much red ink on papers.
Robin
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/17 "2004-08-24T00:54:52Z")
> [@Kallessa](#):
>
> **Diogenes** , a very good effort, very descriptive. Next time, try not to quote from someone else so much, it’s your work that I’m interested in reading! You need to work on your paragraph structure (remember, more than one sentence), and “bad” is an adjective, you should have used the adverb form “badly.” Keep up the good work!!!
>
> Well, somebody had to do it.
Actually, I thought someone was going quote my entire OP and make a bunch of corrections in purple. I was close. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/18 "2004-08-24T00:56:54Z")
Come to think of it. Has anyone heard from the Grapist lately? Maybe he’s behind this purple crusade?
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### Author:  [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/19 "2004-08-24T00:57:36Z")
This test has been graded by the **GRADIST**.
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### Author:  [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-winner-of-the-stupidest-pc-back-to-school-trend-of-the-day-is/261171/20 "2004-08-24T00:58:44Z")
Damn, **Dio** , you had to beat me by a fraction of a minute… 😛
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