Teachers in Australia are being told to avoid using red pens to mark their students' work, because the color can be seen as aggressive. Huh? I had to re-read that one, just to make sure I understood. Apparently the advice ??? given out to about 29 schools as part of a Queensland Health kit ??? has caused quite the brouhaha. Opposition health spokesman Mark McArdle called it a ???kooky, loony, loopy, Left policy.??? And Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens Associations President Margaret Black made an impassioned plea to scrap it. ???We're calling for our children to grow up normally, including their work being marked with a red pen," she said.
The intensity of it all sounds like a debate over global warming or financial bailouts ??? not the use of a red writing implement.
The Courier-Mail of Brisbane and Queensland actually put together a photo gallery of ???red pens in action,??? warning that ???images may disturb some users.???
Some see the red pen situation as no laughing matter, though. According to the courier mail article:
???Psychologists are split on the red pen advice but Toowoomba child psychologist Paul Bramston said a softer colour could help some children with problems. "The red pen brings up association of aggression more than blue or black as red is linked more with dramatic things like stop signs," Dr Bramston said.'