“Hugs are just about a thing of the past. It’s too bad, but you really have to watch it these days.”
—Jamie Hosford, an assistant superintendent in Rockford, Michigan, bemoaning the effect on educators of three area teachers being arrested in February on sexual assault charges involving students.
“It’s becoming a younger profession. You see folks with dreadlocks and chunky boots. They’re not the ‘shush, be quiet’ librarians of old.”
—Paige Wasson, a spokesperson for the American Library Association, on the changing nature of the bookish profession.
“A student is branded for life with ‘needs improvement.’ ”
—Christina Perez, an anti-Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System activist, on a possible consequence of printing students’ exam scores on their high school transcripts. The state department of education has proposed the move.
“There’s been no squirting across the room.”
—Craig Madsen, principal of Oak Heights Elementary in Lynnwood, Washington, on his school’s smooth transition from serving milk in cartons to distributing it in plastic pouches.
“A lot of times, students had more weapons than we had.”
—Darron Wheeler, who recently left his job as a Baltimore school police officer, on one of the humiliations—not being allowed to carry a gun—that prompted him to quit. The city’s school cops are leaving in droves, complaining of a lack of respect for their work.
“To me, that’s a non-raise.”
—Paul Hubbert, executive director of the Alabama Education Association, on the state’s decision to give teachers a raise only if the economy recovers.
