What a horrible horrible thing to have happened. If you have not read this story yet, you should. It seems that for years now teachers have been inflicting intense irreversible psychological harm to their students, and thankfully now someone is stepping in and trying to put an end to it.

After reading that article, I think it is my duty to post some of my favorite red pens with a quick pen review or writing sample so that red pens around the world can have their voices heard, and not be discriminated against. All of the red pens in the writing sample above (click the picture for a better view) have been very good to me, and I love using each and every one of them…I cant imagine one ever hurting a child.

Obviously the Sharpie is great for writing on just about anything, and doing so with authority and permanence.

The Sanford Liquid Expresso is a pen I’ve always enjoyed writing with, it just writes so smoothly that its fun to just pick up and doodle with just so I have an excuse to write with it.

The Bic Z4 I used as an every day pen in school to go back and underline or flag really important parts in my notes.

My Uniball Vision Exact has always been a pen I relied on when it came to color coding things like my calendar or project plans. I love the green version of this pen for that same purpose.

You might be able to tell from the picture, but the Pilot Precise V5 is a pen that I have had for years. The very fine and firm point make it great for exacting work. I remember using it in school when I had to make maps or charts.

Both of my Uniball Signo pens (the .28 and .18) are fairly new, however I have already grown quite attached to them. My main use for these pens is to go back into my notes or to-do lists for work so I can make small follow up notes. For example, if I have a “To Do” item to call someone back, I can use the super fine writing point of either of these pens to jot down the date and time I called the person back in any small space or margin that is left.

Well, that is my quick summary of my favorite red pens, hopefully people come to their senses and realize that banning red pens will not solve any problems. I think the focus should be on making fewer mistakes, learning to take constructive criticism, and understanding that we all make mistakes and need to learn from them.

On a side note, you will notice that I did the writing sample above on my Doane Paper writing pad which you might remember from my Doane Paper review. I wanted to point this out because I just realized today that I never put a link to the Doane Paper website on my “Buy Stuff” links over there —> so that people had an easy way to check out the site. Chad Doane the creator of Doane Paper runs a good business with great customer service, so I am a little bummed that I forgot to add him over there sooner.