Teachers: Red Ink = Scary

**Apex** · 08-26-2004, 04:30 PM

http://www.boston.com/news/education...seeing_purple/

"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."

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.

**DarkFury** · 08-26-2004, 07:19 PM

I know I never liked seeing "red marks" on my papers either...

It made it look like my reports were "bleeding".

**bachviet** · 08-26-2004, 07:22 PM

Now that's just stoopid.

Why change ink color just because the students don't like it?

**InfiniteNothing** · 08-26-2004, 07:47 PM

When i went to school things were graded int green. I like that indigo color though.

**ACE** · 08-26-2004, 08:02 PM

Just give all the students A's and spare them the misery of failure, whether they deserve them or not. God forbid they should ever suffer any criticism. I think RED makes a statement that should get their attention,,,not a purple "suggestion" that "perhaps" they could do better. Grumpy old man has vented now...carry on.

**zenbooty** · 08-26-2004, 08:23 PM

Color Psychologists? People get paid for this? Where do I sign up?

When I was a kid I never found red to be threatening. And most of my teachers it seemed graded in any color they had handy that wasn't the same as mine.

They better watch out, cause purple is also linked to sexual frustration. Don't want all your students becoming guidance counselors.

**Houdini** · 08-26-2004, 08:59 PM

"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."

Er...I'm not a color-psychology expert or anything, but isn't this whole concept a bit over-the-top? I seriously doubt changing red to purple will improve the grades, self-esteem, work ethic, fund of knowledge, learning rate, behavior, success potential, etc., of any student. Even in my professional career, I've seen people who cannot construct grammatically correct sentences despite 20+ years of education. I would contend that perhaps people REQUIRE more "aggression" if that's what it takes to learn.

Last year I read an evaluation from a colleague that made me shudder:

"Her teaching techniques was done by just criticizing."

Perhaps more red ink could have prevented my involuntary convulsion.

**avlena** · 08-26-2004, 09:59 PM

i don't think this "red ink is bad" theory is that new. i recall my dad telling me about how some of his other co-workers were using green pens because red ink was supposed to make them feel worse... as he gleefully whipped out one of his many red pens and started grading papers. that was at least 4 years ago.

anyway, i think it's silly to worry more about students self-esteem then what they learn, but i have to admit, a giant red F is much more intimidating then a green, blue, or purple F.