The Red Pen Principle — Where Preparation Meets Execution
Who knew the ballpoint pen could create champions who excel under pressure?
We were never allowed to use this instrument in grade school. The teacher wouldn’t have it. Doing so meant trouble for me. “You are only to write in pencil!”, Mrs. Thomas would say. I didn’t earn the right to write with a pen yet. Because I, like all other kids, were not experts.
But writing in pen was so cool!
Cooler than the boring, old graphite pencil…
I’m currently in my twenties and you would hope I’m an expert in grade 3 math now.
I tutor math and science at the elementary and high school level. And for the younger students, I’ve adopted what I call, “The Red Pen Principle.”
The Red Pen Principle
I ask them, “Do you want to write in pen?” They often emphatically say, “YES!” I reply, “OK, are you ready to write in pen?” This question receives answers less predictable.
It’s a question that forces my students to judge their level of expertise on a given subject — usually, it’s math.
Some are all-in and believe they can do the work with no mistakes. Others are on the fence about it.
