Red pen too aggressive, Queensland teachers told

By Gabrielle Dunlevy

AAP

December 03, 2008 12:54pm

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Bureaucrats fear for the mental health of schoolchildren exposed to the teacher's red pen

• Teachers told to "reconsider pen colour"
  
• Children might be offended by red
  
• Advice from Queensland Health
  

TEACHERS have been told to stop marking schoolchildren's work with red pen because it is an "aggressive" colour.

Queensland's Deputy Opposition Leader Mark McArdle told parliament today that teachers were being advised to reconsider their pen choice because it may offend children.

Mr McArdle tabled a Queensland Health document proposing "strategies for addressing mental health wellbeing in any classroom".

It says: "Don't mark in a red pen (which can be seen as aggressive) - use a different colour."

Is red too aggressive? Have your say below

I'm not from Australia but I still start sweating and having nightmares when I think about the RED remarks my teachers made in my exams....

Red is the colour of love but in those days I didn't even think about love...yet...just having nightmares about my bloody teachers

I can't sleep now anymore....

LaoPo

I use red everyday in my work, to indicate that a change has taken place.

Blue is used to show that something is an original.

I am stunned that the Queensland authorities can spend time worrying about the colour of the pen used to mark (up) work when they have much much bigger issues in the Qld education system.

For example Queensland primary teacher faces 46 sex abuse charges

State investigates school sex claims

Cancer cluster suspected at school - Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said there had been 11 cases of cancer at Deception Bay High School, north of Brisbane.

etc etc etc

Like Britain, Australia has gone PC to a ridiculous extent.

There is a current release movie called Four Christmases. In Oz it's been retitled Four Holidays in case someone is offended by the reference to a christian tradition.

I'm not from Australia but I still start sweating and having nightmares when I think about the RED remarks my teachers made in my exams....

Red is the colour of love but in those days I didn't even think about love...yet...just having nightmares about my bloody teachers

I can't sleep now anymore....

LaoPo

Warning....

Rogue Pen Gallery

View at your own risk.

Is this for real? The world has gone totally bonkers!!!

Well, I don't know. But after seeing how (some of ) the reds have acted recently, maybe it is a violent colour.

And don't matadors use red capes to taunt the (colour blind) bulls ?

Next they'll be telling teachers not to hand out failing grades, because they are too depressing and affect children's mental health wellbeing !

The world is progressing (some would say "evolving" ) in large part because of people that grew up in a system where red pens and failing grades were the norm.

Now we keep getting idiots like this that are trying to "dumb down" the system.

Red pens. Who ever came up with this stupid idea probably failed a lot as a kid and got his ass whooped by his parents whenever they saw "red" failure marks on his school work. Now he is psychologically scarred and blaming it on red pens, not his failure to study and get better grades.

"Hello Sir"

Hello Sir, remember me?

I'm the man you thought I'd never be

The boy who you reduced to tears

Lad called 'thingy' for six whole years.

Yes, that's right, my name's Bob

The one who landed the pop star's job

The one you told, look don't touch

The kid who wouldn't amount to much.

Well, I'm here and you're still there

With a fake sports car and receding hair.

Dodgy Farah trousers that you think are smart

Married to the woman who teaches art.

Married to the life, married to the school

I wanna sing and dance Sir; now who's the fool?

Sing and dance, you thought I was barmy

Settle down thingy, join the army.

And who are you to tell me this?

The dream I want I'll have to miss

Sir is God, he's been given the right

To structure lives overnight.

Now I know life's true path

Tanks and guns that'll be a laugh

No, not me I'm a mega civilian

I won't lead my life riding pillion.

But thanks for the advice and I'm sure it'll do

For the negative dickheads just like you.

As for now I've a different weapon

Stage and sceen is about to beckon.

And here I sit in first class

<deleted> Sir, kiss my arse...

Red pen, blue pen, black pen...... to me it didn't matter what colour it was, the content did..... "3/10 See Me" .... "Could do better" ....."F"

This is another one of those apologies that tries to lay the blame on anything but poor teaching standards.

Why don't we just turn the TV to black and white and turn the contrast down so everything is a wishy washy grey? then people who come up with cr@p like this will be out of a job.

What has gone wrong with the free world that many gave their lives for? For they sure as hel_l didn't make that final sacrifice for this kind of nonsense.

I got an A in Geography once!!

I got an A in Geography once!!

That's no surprise, knowing there are only 2 major cities in Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow.....

Sorry Patsy, I was just joking and reading you were off to Scotland for the Holidays

Happy Christmas !

LaoPo

I got an A in Geography once!!

Well I dare say that makes you better qualified than a certain recent vice-presidential candidate !

In the provinces, I was told to never, ever write a student's name in red. Better yet, nothing in red ink.

Red is an emphatic colour. It draws attention and amplifies.....

Explain the difference in these two statements.

Excellent work Simon, ten out of ten

Excellent work Simon, ten out of ten

Or these two statements.....

V. Poor, see me

V. Poor, see me

There is only one clear message, pick up the right pen .... not that difficult is it.

Agreed, names should not be written in red ink. But what if 'my' religion considers writting in black is bad because it's the color of death! Best write in white on blue paper, opps white is the death color in Japan. Better not to risk offending anyone and not write at all.

Let's just do non competitive finger painting, too much risk of poisoning, best use cut out potato stamps, far too dangerous all that cutting potatoes and there's colorado beetles to consider. We should just sit quietly - but no - allow the young minds to express themselves so sit, stand run around and make noise.

I would really be interested in what childhoods were encountered by the adults that impose such PC rules as they appear complete madness to the average person.

What's a Red pen?

I only ever got Gold Stars and Merit marks

In the provinces, I was told to never, ever write a student's name in red. Better yet, nothing in red ink.

yes something about that ....we were told as kids...dont write your name or someone's name in red

never asked significance. maybe its the colour of blood?

Amusing, that red pen gallery. On the opening page, there was the red (pointedly/amusingl) threatening warning box and offset below was a friendly blue Foxtel ad...