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At Normal School she learned a lot about Shakespeare, but most of all about the profound importance of education—especially, for a people trying to move up from slavery. "What you put in your head, boy," she once said, "can never be pulled out by the Ku Klux Klan, the congress or anybody."
在师范学院的时候，贝茜老师读了很多莎士比亚的作品，但更重要的是她认识到教育的深远意义——尤其对于一个想摆脱奴役的民族极其重要。她曾经说过：“你学过的知识，一旦记在脑海里，就永远不会被那些三K党、国会或任何其他人掠夺走。”
Miss Bessie's bearing of dignity told anyone who met her that she was "educated" in the best sense of the word. There was never a discipline problem in her classes. We didn't dare mess with a woman who knew about the Battle of Hastings, the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights—and who could also play the piano.
贝茜小姐端庄的举止让所有认识她的人都觉得她是受过最好教育的人。在她的课堂上从来没有人捣乱。我们都不敢给一个既了解黑斯廷斯战役、大宪章和《权利法案》，又会弹钢琴的人惹麻烦。
This frail-looking woman could make sense of Shakespeare, Milton, Voltaire, and bring to life Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois. Believing that it was important to know who the officials were that spent taxpayers' money and made public policy, she made us memorize the names of everyone on the Supreme Court and in the President's Cabinet. It could be embarrassing to be unprepared when Miss Bessie said, "Get up and tell the class who Frances Perkins is and what you think about her.
这位看似弱不禁风的女人竟然能读懂莎士比亚、弥尔顿和伏尔泰的作品，并且把布克·T. 华盛顿和W. E. B.杜波伊斯讲述得栩栩如生。她认为记住那些花纳税人的钱并制定国家政策的官员的名字是非常重要的，因此她让我们记住最高法院和总统内阁全体成员的名字。要是贝茜老师说：“站起来，告诉大家谁是弗朗西斯·珀金斯，并谈一下你对她的看法”，而你对此毫无准备，那就太丢脸了。
