Monthly QuotED: Student Marches, Teacher Strikes and Betsy DeVos — 8 Notable Quotes that Made Education News in March

QuotED is a roundup of the most notable quotes behind America’s top education headlines — taken from our daily EduClips, which spotlights morning headlines from America’s 15 largest school districts. Read previous EduClips installments here.

“Six minutes and about 20 seconds. In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us.” — Emma Gonzalez, survivor of February’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, speaking at the March 24 “March for our Lives” before remaining silent for nearly 6 minutes to memorialize the 17 people killed in the massacre. (Read at The74Million.org)

“Historically, public-sector strikes have tended to come in waves. Teacher strikes have tended to breed more teacher strikes.” — Georgetown University historian Joseph McCartin, on the recently ended teachers strike in West Virginia and the threat of one in Oklahoma. (Read at Bloomberg)

“Even the best plan is short on the meaningful solutions that the law encourages. Even the best plan doesn’t take full advantage of the law’s built-in flexibility, and launching a PR push to defend these plans doesn’t change that.” — U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, accusing states of submitting underwhelming accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). (Read at The74Million.org)

“When young people are criticized just for the fact of their age, that just shows that people have a pretty weak critique of what’s going on.” — Mary Beth Tinker, whose Vietnam-era student protest sparked the landmark Supreme Court decision that upheld students’ First Amendment rights. (Read at The74Million.org)

“To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race, generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone.” — The U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Linda Brown, whose father objected when she was not allowed to attend an all-white school in her neighborhood, died Sunday. (Read at New York Times)

STAHL: Have you seen the really bad schools? Maybe try to figure out what they’re doing?

DEVOS: I have not, I have not, I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming.

STAHL: Maybe you should.

DEVOS: Maybe I should. Yes.

— Exchange between 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Michigan’s low-performing schools. (Read at CBS News)

“March Madness is indeed a great escape, but social mobility is the great escape.” — Jorge Klor de Alva, president of the Nexus Research and Policy Center, and Mark Schneider, vice president and Institute Fellow at the American Institutes for Research and the president of College Measures, who created an NCAA bracket for income mobility. (Read at The74Million.org)

“Boo Guns! YES FLOWRS AND HEARTS.” — protest sign thought up by Lucia Snook-Dengat, a kindergartner who participated in the National Student Walkout with her mom in New Jersey. (Read at The74Million.org)

For a roundup of the day’s top education headlines from America’s 15 largest school districts, go to EduClips.

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