And while we are on the subject of schools' bottomless capacity to distract themselves, San Diego educators are taking on The Red Pen. Some there are arguing that red marks dashed across a paper make students dread the grading process and, consequently, red should be replaced with "less aggressive" colors, like purple. According to Melanie Irvine, a teacher in Carlsbad, “Purple is a more approachable color.???

Michael Finn, a representative of Paper Mate, has this to say: “This is a kinder, more gentler [sic] education system. And the connotation of red is that it is not as constructive as purple.??? Yes, and this is a kinder, gentler pen manufacturer that wants to sell more purple pens.