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Red pens

Repub05

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I found this new proposal by liberal teachers and i though it was pretty funny. It was in some Boston news paper online


"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.:


I think thats pretty funny! Personally I think that there should be some law requiring teachers to grade everything with a big red sharpie. If a student (keep in mind, I am one) doesn't study: too bad! No effort points, just grade it the same as everyone else's. But not all the liberal teachers agree that we should switch to purple , I understand that (just thought i needed to tell you before i get 80 replies telling me that they don't!)

:lol:
 

shuamort

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Repub05 said:
I found this new proposal by liberal teachers and i though it was pretty funny. It was in some Boston news paper online

But not all the liberal teachers agree that we should switch to purple , I understand that (just thought i needed to tell you before i get 80 replies telling me that they don't!)

:lol:
Where do you see the teacher(s) political leanings in the article you quoted? Or are you just making things up?

Here's another article about it in CT
The color red has become an issue for Connecticut school officials and their colleagues across the country.

Joseph Foriska, principal of an elementary school in Pittsburgh, has instructed his teachers to grade with colors with more pleasant tones.

Pen and marker manufactures say they are making more purple pens in response to rising demand by school leaders and teachers.
 

Arch Enemy

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though color has no meaning, nor can it be described. It respresents memories of the past, usually the color many of us remeber as "red" reminds us of the color of Blood or a warning/danger sign. Purple reminds us of royalty, while variations of Blue reminds us of water, more pleasent things.

I agree.. I'm always scared of red marks on my paper.
 

RightinNYC

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This is so dumb, but it doesn't really matter, so they can do what they want.
 

Arch Enemy

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RightatNYU said:
This is so dumb, but it doesn't really matter, so they can do what they want.

Agreed.121212132`1
 

Mixed View

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Arch Enemy said:
Agreed.121212132`1

roger that! Conservative teachers at my school seem more strict about using and not using a red pen. oh well. I don't really care.
 

Arch Enemy

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How do you know the stances of your teachers? I mean, I've never been told that about mine.. execpt when one shouts "Republicans are stupid".
 

RightinNYC

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Arch Enemy said:
How do you know the stances of your teachers? I mean, I've never been told that about mine.. execpt when one shouts "Republicans are stupid".

You've never had political debates with your teachers? Your teachers never wore campaign buttons?
 

Arch Enemy

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nope, never.

If we even try to debate politics, most of the teachers tell us to shut up. They only see that sometimes it'll get to the point where people are offended. I think I successfully had a debate once in class, that was because the substitute had fallen asleep... We have debates alot in English and History class, but the teacher doesn't get involved.
 

IamMrRodgers

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Red pens... I dont think this is a big issue... honestly im a student and it doesnt hurt my feelings to see a red mark on my paper... I am more angered by a paper with no corrections. When I see the red I look and learn the knowledge which I missed when I originaly did the paper. So for teachers to be concerned about hurting the feelings of a student seems ridiculous just teach the information and worry less about what color your using on their papers.
 

V.I. Lenin

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I personally love the color red!...but thats for different reasons :mrgreen:

I've actually heard more on this issue. It's part of a..."hippization" plan for America's schools. Some out there believe all sociatal woes are derived from poor self-esteem. Therefore, if we make everyone feel happy and loved and build a bubble of smiles and lollipops around them, they'll be well prepared for the real world and it's constant hugs and fun situations!

Problem is...self-esteem can be a double edged sword. Kids are never told no in some schools, never dispointed and never learn to cope with said disapointment. Also....sociopaths have high self-esteem!
 

Arch Enemy

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V.I. Lenin said:
I personally love the color red!...but thats for different reasons :mrgreen:

Nothing to do with being a communist?
 

bellisaurius

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It seems harmless to use purple. Funny (as repub said), but as long as it's not some mandate, but rather a kind of common agreement it's probably not causing any damage. Probably should have been thught up earlier.

Still, I'd rather see comments on corrections instead of marks. Like on our power school tests "CE" (concept error), or "WTF", and ATQA (answer the question, A!@#).
 

Mixed View

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Arch Enemy said:
How do you know the stances of your teachers? I mean, I've never been told that about mine.. execpt when one shouts "Republicans are stupid".

I come from a heavily Republican area. So it is pretty easy to tell who the dems are
 

democrat17

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i love redpens, i love to mark things wrong on tests, it is so fun.(especially when you don't like the person:mrgreen:)
 

nkgupta80

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this self-esteem stuff has gone to peoples head... you can't make a kid feel good about gettin something wrong.
 

Arch Enemy

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Mixed View said:
I come from a heavily Republican area. So it is pretty easy to tell who the dems are

That makes no sense. My school is almost engulfed by Republicans, yet there is still an evenly balance of Democratic to Republican teachers (Survey was done by Year Book)
 

mistermain

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They should just go ahead and start using pink. It will get to that point eventually anyway.
 

ALiberalModerate

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Arch Enemy said:
That makes no sense. My school is almost engulfed by Republicans, yet there is still an evenly balance of Democratic to Republican teachers (Survey was done by Year Book)

Thats because the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a Democrat (its a joke, but not really, there are more PHDs that vote Dem than Republican)
 

mistermain

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SouthernDemocrat said:
Thats because the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a Democrat (its a joke, but not really, there are more PHDs that vote Dem than Republican)

That's because most republicans earn their bachelor's than enter the real world, rather than hide out in college for as long as the rents will support them.
 
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