“If a teacher wants to know something why doesn’t she look it up herself instead of making we students do it? We benefit ourselves more … Read More
“The clerical work is par for the course. “Keep on file in numerical order” means throw in wastebasket. You’ll soon learn the language. “Let it … Read More
“I feel no different than I felt at 99, 98 or 97. Just because you live a long time, you get all this attention. Just … Read More
“I like the word OLD. Not senior, that’s for proms. Older? Older than whom? ‘Old’ is honorable and ripe” Bel Kaufman
“… good teachers, like Tolstoy’s happy families, are alike everywhere.” Bel Kaufman
“One of my students had written wistfully of a dream-school that would have “windows with trees in them.” Bel Kaufman
“A teacher is frequently the only adult in the pupil’s environment who treats him with respect.” Bel Kaufman
“When giving comes directly from the heart, it can never disappoint or embarrass.” Bel Kaufman
“People ate bread made of the shells of peas because there was no flour.” Bel Kaufman
“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 … Read More
“But if there is such a thing as social commitment in literature, I think it must manifest itself in a reader’s awareness of the human … Read More
“I so enjoy being old because for the first time I don’t have to do anything-work, teach, study. I feel very good about myself-and at … Read More
“I am writing this during my lunch period, because I need to reach towards the outside world of sanity, because I am overwhelmed by the … Read More
“Love is the ultimate giving, an expression of one’s best self.” Bel Kaufman
“I want to point the way to something that should forever lure them, when the TV set is broken and the movie is over and … Read More
“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 … Read More
“And that’s it; that’s why I want to teach; that’s the one and only compensation: to make a permanent difference in the life of a … Read More
“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 … Read More
“Time collapses and expands like an erratic accordion.” Bel Kaufman
“I’ll never retire as long as I live—that’s like retiring from life! I’ll never stop writing, teaching, lecturing. If you’re in good health, living is … Read More
