It's The Little Things

 

The "Magic" Purple Pen

When I first started teaching, my mentor told me that using a red pen to correct student work would send a negative message to students. Any other color of pen would do, just not red. And so, I found a purple pen to use and have used it ever since. 

For 7 years now, I have bought myself a new pack of said pens. It has become my "signature" pen and the students specifically ask for it.  In fact, I have had other helpers in my classroom who have been willing to correct work when I am busy, and the students have refused them because they do not possess the magic purple pen. Silly right?  

Well, silly or not, the students that come into my classroom look for that pen because it somehow represents me as the teacher. I didn't expect the significance of how something so small could become engrained in my teaching persona, but it most certainly has. It is definitely one of the little things that makes me smile every time I pick it up, because I know it is important to the kids.