Learning is a process of mutual discovery for teacher and pupil. Keep an open mind to their unexpected responses.
BEL KAUFMANMy mother, for example, has the pleasant notion that my day consists of nodding graciously to the rustle of starched curtsies and a chorus of respectful voices bidding me good morning.
More Bel Kaufman Quotes
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A teacher is frequently the only adult in the pupil’s environment who treats him with respect.
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Mythology is studied in the school system because most of us come from it.
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To the outside world, of course, this job is a cinch: 9 to 3, five days a week, two months’ summer vacation with pay, all legal holidays, prestige and respect.
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“Language Arts Dept.” is the English office; “literature based on child’s reading level and experiential background” means that’s all they’ve got in the Book Room; “non-academic-minded” is a delinquent; and “It has come to my attention” means you’re in trouble.
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Teachers try to make us feel lower than themselves, maybe because this is because they feel lower than outside people. One teacher told me to get out of the room and never come back, which I did.
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Love is the ultimate giving, an expression of one’s best self.
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You can’t laugh and be angry, you can’t laugh and feel sad, you can’t laugh and feel envious.
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I like the word OLD. Not senior, that’s for proms. Older? Older than whom? ‘Old’ is honorable and ripe
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Children are the true connoisseurs. What’s precious to them has no price, only value.
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When giving comes directly from the heart, it can never disappoint or embarrass.
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… good teachers, like Tolstoy’s happy families, are alike everywhere.
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Education can’t make us all leaders, but it can teach us which leader to follow.
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I suggest just Good and Bad at the end of the term on report cards. Or maybe nothing. Frank Allen
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“Let it be a challenge to you” means you’re stuck with it; “interpersonal relationships” is a fight between kids; “ancillary civic agencies for supportive discipline” means call the cops.
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Best marks go to cheaters and memorizers. Marks depend on memorizing and not on real knowledge. When you cram into your head for a test you may get a high mark but forget it the next day. That’s not an education.
BEL KAUFMAN