The colour red is a warm and positive colour. It exudes and strong and powerful energy. It is energizing and excites the emotions and motives us to take action. In Eastern cultures such as China, red is the color for good luck. So why do the school officials at Mounts Bay Academy in Cornwall England claim that 'red is a very negative colour'. They have introduced a new grading policy in which teachers will be marking students papers in green instead. Students will be using the colour purple to write their replies and corrections. "Switching to the new marking system is certainly not about us going all soft and fuzzy," says vice principal Jennie Hick. "Students make more progress if it is a dialogue and the new system is designed to help that.  A teacher will make two or three positive comments about a student's homework and point out perhaps that one thing that will take them to the next stage." Is overprotecting our kids really such a good thing? Do we really need to shield them from the evils of the colour red? Isn't this just following down the same path as taking away the competitiveness in competitive sports or banning soccer balls from the schoolyard? I strongly believe that children need to fail in order to succeed. They need to learn that life isn't all puppy dogs and rainbows. They need to learn how to pick themselves back up after dealing with a difficult situation. Our role as parents, as care-givers, as educators is to give them the tools they need to make it on their own in this ever-changing world. Is eradicating the colour red the way to do it? I don't think so. What do you think of this British school's new policy of banning the red ink when grading their student's papers?