Using Blue, not Red Pens

The following column originally was published in September and October, 2025 by a number of APG of East Central Minnesota newspapers, including the following:
Faribault Daily News, Aitken Age,  Sun Current, Sun Sailor,  Sun Post, Sun This Week, Dakota County Tribune, Laker & Pioneer,   Morrison County Record,    Press & News,  APG of East Central Minnesota News Service, County News Review,  Stillwater Gazette, ABC Newspapers

 

Using Blue, not Red pens

 

The title refers to pens, not politics. I’m thinking about the new school year and some of the best advice I received from a veteran teacher. She encouraged me to be kind and supportive in responding to most mistakes that students made. She used the phrase – “Use a blue, not a red pen.”

Decades ago, I was a student in Wichita Public Schools, Kansas. I often received papers with lots of red ink, especially in math and spelling. Sometimes there were strong, negative comments, also in red ink. Perhaps I was too sensitive. But the red ink and accompanying comments sometimes seemed pretty harsh. I understand that today, educators often respond “online” to student work. But responses sometimes are in color.

I was reminded of this when I made two recent mistakes in columns. The first was in a column describing a skin cancer operation. I praised Donna Crepps, who had first pointed out that there seemed to be a problem on my scalp. I referred to Donna as a barber. She responded, thanking me for mentioning her. Then she explained that she is a cosmetologist (treating hair, skin and nails). She gently explained that there are different licenses

My second mistake was in a column about “When We Become Ours,” a terrific book featuring brief essays by people who had been adopted. I referred to Nicole Chung, one of the co-editors and authors in the book, as an “international adoptee from Korea into a U.S. family.” This 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 situation right is important. The notes from Crepps and Chung reminded me I need to be more careful in describing people I write about. I have tried to do this. I must improve. I’ve apologized to each of them and promised to share the accurate information with you, column readers.

The gentle way Chung and Crepps responded to my mistakes reminded me of that teacher’s advice.

Some years ago a teen I knew stole and wrecked a van. It was one of many crimes this youngster had committed. Rather than incarceration, which was proposed, the victim suggested restorative justice – i.e., the youngster going into an education program of his choice, repaying much of the damage he had caused and avoiding additional crimes.

This “restorative justice” approach seemed to work. The youngster completed his education, got a job, and avoided criminal activity. Restorative justice can be an effective approach. Some research supports it, and I plan to write about it in the future. It has its base, partially, in practices of some American Indian and other indigenous people.

Unquestionably, some mistakes result in physical harm or threat to others, or other serious outcomes. Consequences are vital.

Nevertheless, often, the “blue pen” approach can be most constructive. I’m trying to use that now, with a company that has deeply frustrated me for almost a month. I may write about that in the future.

There are limits to this approach. Sometimes people do cruel, horrible things to each other, like the recent murders in Minnesota and elsewhere. These call for serious consequences.

Sometimes, using kind, gracious corrections earlier in a person’s life can alter their life path. I’ve seen this in a number of students with whom I’ve worked – including some who assaulted others. They had suffered terribly, sometimes by one or more family members, sometimes from others.

I think of a young man who assaulted and shot at others. Another committed a number of criminal acts. Both received serious consequences. But they also received support and encouragement. Both have become positive, award-winning Minnesotans.

So, this is a plea. Parents, grandparents and educators, please consider the “blue pen” approach. It may just change a life and the world.

Joe Nathan has been an award-winning Minnesota public school educator and PTA president. He’s a senior advisor at the Center for School Change and welcomes responses, joe@centerforschoolchange.org