Oh Lord, this silly theory is making the rounds again (I've addressed it previously). Will we ever be free of the ridiculous "educational" idea that the color of an "A" or an "F" matters more than the learning behind them?
At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn., teachers are no longer grading papers in red ink. Parents complained that students get stressed out by red ink. Blue and other colors are now being used. Red has become so symbolic of negativity that some principals and teachers across the country are not touching it.Joseph Foriska, the principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pa., has instructed his teachers to grade with colors with more "pleasant-feeling tones" so that their instructional messages do not come across as derogatory or demeaning.
Yet the one teacher interviewed at the end of the article says that she uses different colors because her kids are so used to red that they tune it out. So we're supposed to believe that red ink is both horribly traumatic and completely ignorable. Mm-hmm.
For the record, teachers should use whatever ink color they please. Principals should stay out of it. And there's a whole lot of psychic energy being wasted here by educators who should be worrying about much more important topics.
Posted by kswygert at April 11, 2005 01:38 PM