Can someone PLEASE find the floppy drive for this planet, it needs an FDISK *really* badly.


www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/08/23/harshness_of_red_marks_has_students_seeing_purple/

Harshness of red marks has students seeing purple

By Naomi Aoki, Globe Staff  |  August 23, 2004

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.

As a result, Paper Mate introduced purple to its assortment of blue, red, and green X-Tend pens and increased distribution of existing purple pens this school year. Barry Calpino, Paper Mate's vice president and general manager, estimated that the Bellwood, Ill., company boosted production of purple pens by at least 10 percent. He said purple will now be a standard color in all its new product lines.

Office superstores such as Staples and OfficeMax also are making a splash with purple pens, stocking more of them, adding purple to multicolor packs, and selling all-purple packs. By comparison, Staples did not stock any exclusively purple pen packs last year and it hardly had any purple pens in its stores two years ago, said Robert George, the Framingham chain's senior vice president of general merchandise. Now, he said, sales of purple pens are growing at a faster clip than pen sales overall.

A mix of red and blue, the color purple embodies red's sense of authority but also blue's association with serenity, making it a less negative and more constructive color for correcting student papers, color psychologists said. Purple calls attention to itself without being too aggressive. And because the color is linked to creativity and royalty, it is also more encouraging to students.

"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."

For office supply stores, color and fashion trends spell opportunity and risk. The trends allow them to freshen up staid old categories such as pens and markers, fueling sales. But getting a trend wrong -- betting on purple pens when teachers and students are buying green, for example -- can cost them sales during a critical retail period.

Red's legacy as the color used in correcting papers and marking mistakes goes back to the 1700s, the era of the quill pen. In those days, red ink was used by clerks and accountants to correct ledgers. From there, it found its way into teachers' hands.

But two or three decades ago, an anti-red sentiment began surfacing among teachers. Since then, no one color had emerged as red's replacement.

Is purple here to stay?

"I do not use red," said Robin Slipakoff, who teaches second and third grades at Mirror Lake Elementary School in Plantation, Fla. "Red has a negative connotation, and we want to promote self-confidence. I like purple. I use purple a lot."

Sheila Hanley, who teaches reading and writing to first- and second-graders at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Randolph, said: "Red is definitely a no-no. But I don't know if purple is in."

Hanley said a growing contingent of her colleagues is using purple. They prefer it to green and yellow because it provides more contrast to the black or blue ink students are asked to write in. And they prefer it to orange, which they think is too similar to red.

But aside from avoiding red, Hanley said she is not sure color matters much. At times, she uses sticky notes rather than writing on a child's paper. What's important, she said, is to focus on how an assignment can be improved rather than on what is wrong with it, she said.

Ruslan Nedoruban, who is entering seventh grade at his Belmont school, said red markings on his papers make him feel "uncomfortable."

His mother, Victoria Nedoruban, who is taking classes to improve her English, said she thinks papers should be corrected in red.

"I hate red," she said. "But because I hate it, I want to work harder to make sure there isn't any red on my papers."

Red has other defenders. California high-school teacher Carol Jago, who has been working with students for more than 30 years, said she has no plans to stop using red. She said her students do not seem psychologically scarred by how she wields her pen. And if her students are mixing up "their," "there," and "they're," she wants to shock them into fixing the mistake.

"We need to be honest and forthright with students," Jago said. "Red is honest, direct, and to the point. I'm sending the message, 'I care about you enough to care how you present yourself to the outside world.' "

Hey, you linked it in red, and now I'm scared.



(ETA) Maybe this is better.....

www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/08/23/harshness_of_red_marks_has_students_seeing_purple/

We're doomed.

Kharn

Geeeeez....

WTF is up with prevalance of these kind of stuff showing up recently?

That's it. If I ever become a teacher, I'm grading the papers in MY OWN BLOOD.

Purple is GAY!

Quoted: Purple is GAY!

UBER GEHY!

Ummmm, since kids that are so young have little to no concept of death, why would they associate red ink with blood or be frightened by it? To the kids, it's just red ink. The only thing I remember about red ink in school was that it ws prettier than the #2 pencil or normal ink pen writing. As such I always wanted one.

Now they are going to purple. Is not purple the color of Barney the dinosaur? Now here's something little kids do understand. When they see this purple ink, they will think their teachers killed Barney and melted his flesh down to make this purple ink. Of all the stupid things. It's obvious these people can't think on a kid's level!

[Cartman] You killed Barney to make this goddamn ink! You bastard![/Cartman]

Quoted: But two or three decades ago, an anti-red sentiment began surfacing among teachers.

Yeah and that coincides with the anti-standards, anti-testing, anti-grading, anti-homework, anti-discipline, anti-EDUCATION sentiment that began surfacing among teachers three decades ago too.

Just pretend they're doing it because they hate communists.

, Well it figures, I mean we have a generation raised on barney, sooooooooo

Thats the result, now everybody sing as the teacher grades your paper......

my wife still uses good ol' red.

Hmm,
Paging one Mr. Hell, your 12:30 appointment to meet Mr. Handbasket is confirmed.

For those of you who grew up in the 60s and 70s
did you feel the despair for the future of this country back then, kinda like those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s do now?

We're DOOMED.

That's almost bad enough to declare an official SHTF. Prepare your bug-out bags and load up some mags, because The End is surely near.

Quoted: Purple is GAY!

Yes it is.

Shoot, I had to quit marking up drawings with red over 10 years ago (when we still used paper) because "it hurt the designer's feelings to get comments in red" - and these are supposedly adults.  [Hell, it was supposed to be painful for the morons that didn't get the message the first 80 or 100 times!]  I keep a red grease pencil handy for the really obnoxious stuff - it makes a nice big, wide line.

Gee, if the kids don't like red then MAYBE THEY SHOULD STUDY HARDER AND MAKE FEWER MISTAKES.



Hey, guess what teachers? After you all switch to Purple, the same apprehension that kids had for seeing red all over their paper, they will have for seeing purple all over it.

If you see a whole paper of red, maybe you are a dumbass.

I say we just give them candy when they make a mistake...???

MT

I still use red for corrections. Some of the other staff do use purple or green.

Av.

This isn't new, I had a teacher back in the mid 80's that used purple.  Fact she had said the she had been using that color for years.

I prefer red, it pops out at you when you scan the profs notes.

Quoted: That's it. If I ever become a teacher, I'm grading the papers in MY OWN BLOOD.

If you taught public school, and you did that, you'd go through so much blood correcting those papers, you'd need a transfusion the first day on the job.....

Quoted: I want to know who the people are that sit around and think this shit up?

Liberals. As Ann Coulter said, the first thing delegates said to each other at the DNC Convention in Boston, after "Hello", was, "So- where do you teach?"

this country is becoming so pussified
in 30 years we'll be the france of north america

Gummit schools.  What did you expect?

An what was that you were saying about home schooling???

Quoted: If you see a whole paper of red, maybe you are a dumbass.

No, you see, Red means Wrong.  Purple just means their answers are Different.  They're just correctness-challenged, not a dumbass.

I agree with quite a few things on this board. First of all...

If you are damn stupid enough to get a paper full of red, then you damn well better be scared. The unemployment line and lack of diploma wont change color if you hide or get scared of it. Less stupid=less red.

Write it in BLOOD so they KNOW their asses are toast if it keeps happening. Remember, children:

"If you get red, you get dead"

Stop letting these kids chop off their dicks and push them to do something for a change. I am sick of people whining and screeching about mayonnaise or how their parents are stupid for making them clean their room. Kick their asses and get them into shape.

Get those fuckers in the military.


FYI I am a 17 yr old sn in high school and pussified children make me want to snap their necks.

Quoted: Quoted: But two or three decades ago, an anti-red sentiment began surfacing among teachers. Yeah and that coincides with the anti-standards, anti-testing, anti-grading, anti-homework, anti-discipline, anti-EDUCATION sentiment that began surfacing among teachers three decades ago too.

Actually I don't believe it's the sentiment of the teachers but the sentiment of the administrators.

kids today are PUSSIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and so are their PC asshole parents

I always got my papers back with red marks.  When will it all just collapse?

Well thank God. I am so glad that they changed the color of their ink. I can handle worrying about kidnappers and perverts when I drop my child off at school, but the thought of my baby seeing red ink on one of her worksheets made me absolutely livid. It is about damn time that someone got their priorities straight. Red ink no more, Red ink no more!!!

Quoted: Well thank God. I am so glad that they changed the color of their ink. I can handle worrying about kidnappers and perverts when I drop my child off at school, but the thought of my baby seeing red ink on one of her worksheets made me absolutely livid. It is about damn time that someone got their priorities straight. Red ink no more, Red ink no more!!!

I know puh-lenty of engineers (EE & ME) that always use red pens for everything - I'm positive it's just because they can - because I'm sure at some point, somewhere in their lives - they were scolded for it.

Sort of like, "Look at me now Prof. Ingulukingstanin!  I'm writing in red ink!  Woo-Hoo!"

Me and the family heard this BS on the way to a ballgame last night.  Everyone, to include the high school aged kids snickered and sneered.  Liberal, communist tripe.  I say give them a ruler whack for anything under a B.  How's that for education reform?