Педагог призывает использовать синюю, а не красную ручку для исправления ошибок учеников

The title refers to pens, not politics. With a new school year now underway, I’ve been thinking about some of the best advice I received from a veteran teacher. She encouraged me to respond to most student mistakes with kindness and support. She put it simply: “Use a blue pen, not a red pen.” Decades ago, I was a student in the Wichita Public Schools in Kansas. I often received papers covered in red ink, especially in math and spelling. Sometimes they included strongly worded negative comments, also written in red. Perhaps I was too sensitive. But the red ink and accompanying comments sometimes seemed pretty harsh. Today, educators often respond electronically to student work, but those responses still can have the sting of a red pen. I was reminded of this advice after making two mistakes in previous columns. The first was in a column describing a skin cancer operation. I praised Donna Crepps, who first pointed out that there appeared to be a problem on my scalp. I referred to Donna as a barber. She thanked me for mentioning her, then gently explained that she is a cosmetologist, licensed to work with hair, skin and nails. Barbers and cosmetologists have different licenses. My second mistake was in a column about “When We Become Ours,” a terrific book featuring brief essays by people who were adopted. I referred to Nicole Chung, one of the book’s co-editors and contributors, as an “international adoptee from Korea into a U.S. family.” That was based on my misunderstanding of information in the book. Chung thanked me for the column. Then she pointed out, “I am not from Korea, nor am I an international adoptee. My birth parents were Korean immigrants to the U.S., so I am a domestic adoptee.” Getting a person’s job and family history right is important. The notes from Crepps and Chung reminded me that I need to be more careful when describing the people I write about. I have apologized to both of them and promised to share the correct information with readers. The gentle way they responded to my mistakes also reminded me of that teacher’s advice. Some years ago, a teenager I knew stole and wrecked a van. It was one of many crimes the youngster had committed. Incarceration was proposed, but the victim suggested a restorative justice approach instead. The teenager entered an educational program of his choice, repaid much of the damage he had caused and avoided committing additional crimes. He completed his education and found a job. Restorative justice seeks to hold people accountable while also giving them opportunities to repair harm. Some research supports its effectiveness, and its roots include practices used by some American Indian and other Indigenous communities. I plan to write more about it in the future. The “blue pen” approach does not mean ignoring wrongdoing or eliminating consequences. Some mistakes cause physical harm, threaten others or produce other serious outcomes. Consequences are vital. Sometimes people do cruel, horrible things to each other, as recent murders in Minnesota and elsewhere tragically demonstrate. Such acts call for serious consequences. But consequences and compassion are not opposites. Kind, constructive correction — especially earlier in a person’s life— can help alter that person’s path. I have seen this among students with whom I’ve worked, including some who assaulted others. Many had suffered terribly themselves, sometimes at the hands of family members and sometimes because of others. I think of one young man who assaulted and shot at people. Another committed numerous crimes. Both received serious consequences, but they also received support and encouragement. Both have gone on to become positive, award-winning Minnesotans. So this is a plea to parents, grandparents and educators: Please consider the “blue pen” approach. It may just change a life — and perhaps the world. Joe Nathan has been an award-winning Minnesota public school educator and PTA president. He founded and formerly directed the Center for School Change. Responses are welcome at [email protected].