"If they are not number one, it could get their feelings hurt if they are self-motivating and high-achieving students," Black said. This sounds so clintonesque. Give me a break. What have public schools turned into. They are turning our future adults into a bunch overly sensitive wimps. Just wait until they enter the real world their little "feelings" get hurt. Then again, this IS California, so I really shouldn't be THAT surprised.
These school board officals have NO BACKBONE. Until they get one, all I can do is offer the below.
"If they are not number one, it could get their feelings hurt if they are self-motivating and high-achieving students," Black said." This is a (presumably literate) High School Principal speaking? Has he ever HEARD of verb/object agreement? I would make him diagram this sentence on the blackboard 50 times, until he figures out what is wrong with it (HINT: just about everything.)
I'm betting that HE wasn't the Valedictorian of HIS class...