Thread: Banning Red Pens

Just to clarify my views - the use of red for marking by teachers is simply to use a distinctive colour to distinguish the teacher's marking from the student's. If it is seen as threatening or violent, that is a result of how it is used, and has nothing to do with the actual colour.

The proposal to ban the use of that colour is either a classic and obvious case of treating the symptom not the disease, or, if the intention is to prevent teachers from marking student's work, it is not even treating the symptom, but making sure any disease cannot be detected. In either case, if you value education at all, the proposal is just plain silly.

While I had quite a few unkind remarks written on my work at school, it never even occurred to me that colour was at all relevant except in that it distinguished the teacher's marks from mine. As a matter of fact, red was my favourite colour as a child - but that had nothing to do with school; I had decided that long before I started school.

John

Originally Posted by stevo68

Thats great...doesnt mean that there is anything wrong with taking disciplinary measures. My old man use to give all of us the belt and was probably a bit to easy with its use at times.....but we are all successful as adults in our chosen paths. I however dont and never have used a belt on mine.... that was a learning thing from my childhood, but they have copped a good serve of the old hand if required in their early years. My older 2...10 & 11...all is required is a growl and all is well.

Mind you that really is another topic all together. What I would say is that with your family that are teachers...are they in public or private...as the sytems are different.....if in public how do they find the general behaviour. From what I have heard from some teachers....the manners, the way some children behave is deplorable. Not just isolated incidences...but quite common. Why...cause there is no real disciplinary measures. And this whole red pen caper is just another example of the "softening" as opposed to the "Quickening" ( some might get that..THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE...time for my meds )

Regards

Stevo

mate like i said "l simply cant type fast enough"
your point are valid and l like a man with conviction but it doesn't mean we have to agree .....l got this great sticker from a really close Friends on my facebook the other day, we have been friend for yrs and they know me well but still has the kahunas to have conviction in there opinion but it doesn't and never will change the way we feel about each other ..



so we all agree that banning a "RED PEN" is not the answer but we have different opinions on the system its all good to mate

cheers

"
btw" my wife up untill we moved to Hervey bay was teaching at St Hilders, one (as you would know) of the most exclusive girls schools in the country.

Matt

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Just to clarify my views - the use of red for marking by teachers is simply to use a distinctive colour to distinguish the teacher's marking from the student's. If it is seen as threatening or violent, that is a result of how it is used, and has nothing to do with the actual colour.

The proposal to ban the use of that colour is either a classic and obvious case of treating the symptom not the disease, or, if the intention is to prevent teachers from marking student's work, it is not even treating the symptom, but making sure any disease cannot be detected. In either case, if you value education at all, the proposal is just plain silly.

While I had quite a few unkind remarks written on my work at school, it never even occurred to me that colour was at all relevant except in that it distinguished the teacher's marks from mine. As a matter of fact, red was my favourite colour as a child - but that had nothing to do with school; I had decided that long before I started school.

John

mate it wasn't about the "RED PEN" it was abut the receipt

cheers

I know you're all having a good time with this -


Qld Govt slams 'tasteless' red pen debate | ourbrisbane.com

The Queensland Government says a parliamentary debate about banning red pens is tasteless and trivial.

A Queensland Health document advises teachers that students with mental illness can perceive red pen as "aggressive", and suggests using a different colour.

Deputy Opposition Leader Mark McArdle raised the issue in Question Time.
"Don't you think it's time we focused on classroom outcomes rather than these kooky, loony, loopy, lefty policies?" Mr McArdle said.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson says it is no laughing matter.
"How tasteless their approach to the issue of mental illness is. This was a kit that was to help teachers," he said.

Premier Anna Bligh says MPs should be discussing the economy and not the colour of pen that teachers are using.

But the Opposition says it is bureaucratic madness.

The President of the Queensland Teachers' Union says he is disappointed the Opposition used students and teachers for political games.

Steve Ryan from the Teachers' Union says the Opposition needs to treat education more seriously than that.

"If this is the standard of contribution the State Opposition is going to make it will be a sorry day if they get into power," he said.

"Because this is an issue that is of course not a serious issue in schools and with teachers, and it's also not good form to be making fun of mental health issues."

Cheers
Simon

It's times like this that makes me imbarrised to be a Victorian....

Edumacation in Victoria hasnt been all that good for years, kinda dropped off in the 80's I think when they thought they should stop actually marking kids work from A+ down to F and just putting Satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

I got satisfactory right through school and I still cant spell, punctuate properly or read very well in comparison to my Mum or others her age and it wasnt through lack of trying.

In High school in the country areas in the 80's there was a tendancy for us to either get older teachers who had lost patience with the system which made them change the way they had taught for years and basically tied their hands to actually teaching much at all or we got young teachers who didnt know anything much about teaching in the real world.

Now my generation has grown up, and our schooling didnt help me for one to deal much with real life, I learned that more from my mistakes after leaving home and stuffing up (as with most people) but it hasnt helped a lot of the kids I grew up with either.

My sister and I went through our school photo's a couple of years back and to our surprise we found that a bit more than a third of the people we went to school with were dead and more than half were suicides.

Now I think thats a bit higher rate than most folks would like, including me. but I can say for sure that about a lot that are left have had serious mental illness and depression as well, I can think of 4 people off the top of my head which I hung out with that have tried suicide and spent time in institutions and another 10 or so who I know have been treated for depression.

Now Im not sure if you would put this down to growing up in a country town or if you would put it down to growning up during a recession or would you put it down to our school system not preparing our young people for life.

There is also a very high rate of devorce and broken relationships (those that were like a marriage) in our country town and for people who grew up there but I dont know if it would be any higher than anywhere else but it seems that Not many people are married to who they were the first time up there any more where as the generation before, my step dad was one of very few who had been divorced in the town.

Im not putting it all down to education but it seems there is a time line that started around the late 70's to mid 80's when the education system had it's first real shake up to the modern system we see today.

If they ban red pens it is just another thing that is going to work against society in the future, like Slunnie put, "I generation" wont know how to survive in a real world.

By the way,

One of our trainee's at the moment doesnt like any sort of aggression directed at him and informed me via my boss of this the other day after he cost the club $350 for a new exaust for a tractor and then nearly blew up a small engine on another mower by running it on a 90 deg angle......it's a 4 stroke.

Yes when he broke the tractor I told him to F off and find something else to do (rather than doing what my first reaction was), and yes when the poor little kwacka engine was making loud knocking sounds I yelled and said dont do that and ran to stand it back up and switch it off.......that was mainly due to a new engine being worth about 20 weeks of his wages.

When he started whining and trying to deny he had done anything wrong I again told him to F off and find something else to do.......without raising my voice.

He's a good kid but he's going to give me another heart turn if he keeps this up as my blood pressure goes through the roof.

The other trainee just takes it on the chin and gets on with it and does what he is told so when he does stuff up you only have to tell him once and theres no excusses just an appology and off we go to fix it or he goes onto the next job.

This is what the kids these days will face when they leave school, none of this taking it easy, these are dangerous machines and they have to be operated acordingly and if I cant tell him he's doing something wrong without an argument then it's damn hard to train him and if I cant get animated when he argues the point........well they had better give me a bit more sick leave as I will very likely blow a fuse.

The other thing is, he is the best of the bunch and like I said, he's a great kid and a hard worker but we need him to be able to operate machines without stuffing them up as he wont get far only being able to use a shovel.

Originally Posted by mcrover

By the way,

One of our trainee's at the moment doesnt like any sort of aggression directed at him and informed me via my boss of this the other day after he cost the club $350 for a new exaust for a tractor and then nearly blew up a small engine on another mower by running it on a 90 deg angle......it's a 4 stroke.

<snip>

Does he know the difference between an 2-stroke and a 4-stroke? Does he know why not to run a 4-stroke on that angle?

It might seem blatantly obvious to you, and obviously rule one in your line of work...

I know I only worked that bit out since joining this forum.

Of course, if he was trying to mow the walls.

Cheers
Simon

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrover
By the way,

One of our trainee's at the moment doesnt like any sort of aggression directed at him and informed me via my boss of this the other day after he cost the club $350 for a new exaust for a tractor and then nearly blew up a small engine on another mower by running it on a 90 deg angle......it's a 4 stroke.

<snip>

Does he know the difference between an 2-stroke and a 4-stroke? Does he know why not to run a 4-stroke on that angle?

It might seem blatantly obvious to you, and obviously rule one in your line of work...

I know I only worked that bit out since joining this forum.

Of course, if he was trying to mow the walls.

Cheers
Simon

I got called an F'ing idiot for putting unleaded in my chain saw....without any 2 stroke oil ............and now my chainsaw won't work....plus I was dumb enough to post it on here............and have SWMBO read it....hence the f'ing idiot part ,

Regards

Stevo