4,000-year-old student 'writing tablet' found in Egypt. One detail shows teachers haven’t changed in centuries

Many of us may recall seeing red marks on our schoolwork and test papers, evoking different emotions. The Met Museum shared that even 4,000 years ago, Egyptians were not spared from the practice. A written tablet dating back to 1981–1802 B.C. was discovered and appeared to have correction-like figures on it with red ink. Reported to be from the Middle Kingdom, what has piqued the interest of many is the fact that even centuries ago, red ink was used to denote corrections and has been carried forward to today. A glimpse of the work was shared by u/Agmm-cr on Reddit, where people voiced their mixed feelings about the idea of the colored pen. 

My Modern Met revealed that the tablet, as shared by Egyptologist William C. Hayes in his book, “The Scepter of Egypt,” holds an exercise written by a student named Iny-su, son of Sekhsekh. Until the 20th century, students used tablets as such to record work, which was later whitewashed and reused with the help of gesso. Back then, students would learn from scribes or teachers and practice by writing from texts or documents or writing letters. They were also expected to learn and memorize the use of language, and in some cases, even the text itself. Along with the hieroglyphics in black ink, there are also red ink markings in certain spots, indicating corrections. This came from the master scribe or teacher, who used a pigment available at the time to fix errors in the student’s script, just as we have in the learning system today. 

According to IFL Science, the errors were likely those of spelling and phrasing. Egyptians worked with traditional hieroglyphics back in the day. However, since the characters and script were too much for average scribes and students to follow, a cursive version known as “hieratic” was developed around 3000 BCE. It was this form of writing that was used on the tablet. At that time, the red ink was a matter of the availability of material and pigments, but it’s interesting to see how it has been carried through, though for different reasons, in the teaching practice today. 

According to data from HOPE education, nearly 70% of teachers noted that they use red pens over other colors while correcting or grading work. However, there is much debate about the color and its effect on students. Studies have different opinions about this theory. One noted that red is too aggressive and harsh and gives off the idea of “warning, prohibition, caution, anger, embarrassment, and being wrong.” On the other hand, studies using color psychology noted that stark red is necessary to draw attention and encourage change. The study, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology in 2010, revealed that red corrections led to better accuracy and identification of errors compared to other neutral colors. It's key takeaway was: "Red pens activate concepts of errors and poor performance, influencing grading standards significantly."

The internet has even more enticing opinions. u/Waderrific wrote, “The dreaded red mark has been haunting students for thousands of years.” u/Flashy_Attitude703 added, “Some things never change.” u/avipars remarked, “What dye did they use to get red to stay for thousands of years?”

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