Teachers at Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in Pittsburgh have been forbidden to grade papers with red ink because the color has become a symbol of negativity. “You could hold up a paper that says, ‘Great work!’ and it won’t even matter if it’s written in red,” said principal Joseph Foriska. With parents at other schools complaining that their children find the mere sight of red ink “stressful,” Foriska instructed teachers to switch to more “pleasant-feeling tones,” such as purple.
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I was told this many times when I was teaching. I myself tended to use many different colors when grading, but I think it is absolutely ridiculous that a principal would bother to get involved. Don’t principals have better ways to spend their time? This kind of political principal is why so many young teachers are leaving the profession after only a few years.
So, red is stressful . . . why make the other colors stressful, too?
Why stop there, lets just stop giving them failing grades all together.
Personally, I don’t get the thinking behind mollycoddling children and sheltering them from all adversity. They will certainly face it when they get out into the real world (i.e. college and/or a job), but they sure won’t be prepared to deal with it.
I taught in one district where we were not allowed to give Fs. Our scale was A-B-C-D-U for unsatisfactory.
All of this hooey is exactly why my kids are already on the list for the top private school in Tucson where the emphasis is soley on academics and a well rounded person. Public schools are bullshit anymore. It’s appalling.