The pussification of America

Oh, what the hell. I'll write something political-ish.

I was at a party tonight, surrounded by gazilions of parents and dozens of children. I'm not a parent yet, so I didn't have much to add to the conversations swirling and whirling about me, but I did hear something that really surprised me.

I realize some of this is going to be old news to you my Flowers, but since it is rare that I get worked up over something non-sexual these days, I thought, oh what the heck. I'm writing about it.

Did you know that most schools are now requiring that teachers grade papers with purple pens instead of red pens? Apparently purple is a "friendlier", less "intimidating" color.
I found a kick ass post on Mad Dog Productions that says

According to a story in the Boston Globe, the reason purple is good for grading papers is that it’s a mixture of red and blue, so it has “red’s sense of authority but also blue’s association with serenity.”

And ends with this killer parting shot:

While we’re at it, why not eliminate grades altogether? Low grades breed low self-esteem, and pass/fail — well, it’s just way too, uh, red. It’s downright cruel to make any child think they failed, no matter how badly they did. That’s why the new system should be pass/passable. And letter grades should only include A, B, and C. Between these suggestions and purple grading, it won’t be long before we eradicate low self-esteem, the world will be at peace, and someone will come up with a study that proves purple turns kids into serial killers. It’s enough to make you see red.

I found these SERIOUSLY INTENDED but LOL funny quotes here:

The idea that red induces stress, especially in younger children, has been around for years, said Lawrence Jones, a psychology teacher and former graphic-design instructor at The Art Institute of California San Diego.

"You associate red with blood, stop and danger," he said. "Teachers, realizing the immense problems they face with kids in education, find avoiding red helps them avoid one more negative in a child's life."

Daniel Ochoa, a color theory teacher at the institute, said purple is associated with spirituality, royalty and elegance. Green is also soothing, he said, because it is the color of the forest and symbolic of refreshment.

Kum-bay-fucking-ya.

Like I said, I am not a parent yet. I don't know what it is like to raise anything without copious amounts of fur.....but am I crazy, or is it not part of my future job and your current job as parents to teach a child the good and prepare them for the bad? If kids don't learn how to fail, how to handle failure, LEARN from that failure, how can they ever succeed in this world? Life is not perfect and I think kids need to be prepared for that! Now I am not saying I would ever be a voice of doom and gloom - I am a very positive, happy person. But it seems to me like educators are stuck in this mentality where they think they need to put children in a bubble. Block out, as Stuart Smalley says "All the bad noise".

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I want my kids to get thrown out in dodgeball, know that red pen means wrong answer, an "F" means failure and getting grounded and you'd better get your act together.

I will NOT raise my future children to be sheltered little pussies.

Damnit.