Posted by
James Burns on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:12:05 AM
Today I heard on Fox news this morning that some people want teachers to stop using the dreaded red pen when correcting students papers. The reason is the use of the red pen hurts the child's self esteem.
Since the dawn of time, or the Bic pen, which ever comes first, teachers have used a red pen to correct papers. The purpose was to distinguish the wrong answer from the right ones. To allow the student to see their error and be able to correct it. This is how we learn, by making mistakes and correcting them. So then we can come up with the right answer and not get the problem wrong again. But the liberal bleeding, psyco babble, idiots are saying that the red pen makes students feel bad. The study which was done in Australia says that the color red is to agressive. This is so obsurd.
The coddling and worship of childen in our society today has raised an arrogant, defiant, mentally unstable generation that cannot handle authority or being questioned about behavior. This is study is just another way to coddle children. The bible states "spare the rod and spoil the child." This phrase is not a condoning of beating a child, but construtive criticism and correction is needed to raise a well adjusted child. Now I believe a spanking never hurt anyone, didn't hurt me. But to say the red pen hurts a child self esteem is just crazy. When a child goes uncorrected, they feel that they are never wrong and what ever they do is ok. But in reality it's not. Many parents won't disipline their children because they want to be their friend. They do not want to be a parent. A parents job is to be a teacher to guide the child through life. Teach the child right from wrong. A teachers job is to do the same thing in the educational setting. But the political correct movement in society wants our children to be a bunch of soft, overemotional , bunch of pansies. Because the child is never seen as wrong when they hit the educational setting and when they are wrong and correction is needed they freak out, rebel and come up against the teachers disrespectfully. This behavior starts at home, with the childs tantrums towards a parent who has been coddled. Then when the parent needs to be the disiplinarian it is not received becasue the child sees the parent as their B.F.F.
So what happens to these children? They lash out in school, lash out at parents who are trying to take control when it's too late. The child will skip school, participate in high risk behavior etc. Then when the child is caught or called out on the carpet the parent says " not my kid." The parent cannot even handle their child being criticised. This just condones the childs behavior. The pattern continues and the child either ends up out on the street, in jail or worse. I say stop with the coddling of our youth. Stop worrying about their "self esteem." To not correct a child when wrong is more damaging than correcting them. Self esteem does not come from how we raise or not raise our children. It comes when the child realizes that self in unimportant that the One who created you, who placed you here for His purpose is important. When that is realized and the love that the Creator has for you is greater than any love given by a parent or teacher then you have self esteem. Until then, anything else is a lie.