CNN.com article "Red ink falling out of favor with teachers"- Karwoski’s teachers grade papers by giving examples of better answers for those students who make mistakes. But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red, the color that teachers long have used to grade work.

Parents objected. Red writing, they said, was "stressful." The principal said teachers were just giving constructive advice and the color of ink used to convey that message should not matter. But some parents could not let it go.

So is it stressful that stop lights are red, or stop signs? This is ridiculous. What’s stressful for them is probably the need to work to learn. I know for me that was stressful.

…teachers to grade with colors featuring more "pleasant-feeling tones" so that their instructional messages do not come across as derogatory or demeaning.

Wouldn’t it be words that are derogatory or demeaning rather than colors! "You got this wrong idiot!" now that might be inappropriate.

"The color is everything," said Foriska, an educator for 31 years.

When has color been "everything"? What does that even mean? In 31 years that is what they have learned that color is the key to learning?

"My generation was brought up on right or wrong with no in between, and red was always in your face," Kazmark said. "It’s abrasive to me. Purple is just a little bit more gentle. Part of my job is to be attuned to what kids respond to, and red is not one of those colors."

Kids don’t respond to red huh? Could it be that kids just aren’t responding to getting something wrong? Is this really a problem we are seeing or are kids just being "pleasant feeling" to death to where they don’t feel they have to respond to being incorrect.

Three top pen and marker manufacturers _ Bic, Pilot Pen and Sanford, which produces Papermate and Sharpie _ are making more purple pens in response to rising sales. School leaders and teachers are largely driving that demand, company representatives say.
And just when will purple be considered “derogatory or demeaning” and need to be replaced with some “happy color”?

"They’re trying to be positive and reinforcing rather than being harsh," said Robert Silberman, Pilot Pen’s vice president of marketing. "Teachers are taking that to heart."

Positive reinforcment is great, start doing that. But what will masking the negative do to help? You will get more reasons for positive response when kids do well, and kids will learn to do right when it’s clear when they get something wrong.

"It’s taken a turn from 'Here’s what you need to improve on' to 'Here’s what you’ve done right,'" Powell said. "It’s not that we’re not pointing out mistakes, it’s just that the method in which it’s delivered is more positive."

Her students, she said, probably would tune out red because they are so used to it. So she grades with whatever color _ turquoise blue, hot pink, lime green _ appeals to them.

Once again should we do this will all forms or red used to covey a message such and stop signs and other "negative???" things?

That is a sound approach, said Leatrice Eiseman, a color specialist with a background in psychology who has written several books on the ties between colors and communication.

..."If you use a color that has long been used in a traditional way, you can lose people’s attention, especially if they have a history of a lot of red marks on their papers."

Loose their attention? So let me get this straight here, making things clear and easy to identify equals "loosing a persons attention".

(Purple) is a mix of blue and red. As she put it: "You still have that element of the danger aspect _ the red _ but it’s kind of subtle, subliminal. It’s in the color, rather than being in your face."

Understand your mistakes are key to understanding yet they should be delivered "subliminally" rather than clearly identifiable. Maybe this approach should be applied to science and research.

"I don’t think changing to purple or green will make a huge difference if the teaching doesn’t go along with it," Jones said. "If you’re just looking at avoiding the color red, the students might not be as frightened, but they won’t be better writers."

Clearly

___

On The Net:

Daniels Farm Elementary School: http://www.trumbullps.org/df/
Public School 188: http://www.ps188.org/

Snowshoe Elementary School: http://sse.matsuk12.us/

Berry Elementary School: http://www.ccboe.com/berry/

Thaddeus Stevens Elementary: http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/StevensElementaryFactSheet.asp