Principal Prickly Quotes in Recess: School's Out (2001)

Principal Prickly: I'll let you in on a little secret, Detweiller. Every adult you've ever known was a kid at sometime in his life. You think we don't remember summer vacation? Riding our bikes down the creek. Catching polliwogs in a jar. Camping out under the stars. Well you're wrong! Sometimes I sit there in my office, looking out at you kids in the playground and I think, "They don't know how good they got it. In a few years, they'll be grownups like me and all those good times will be memories for them, too". So go ahead. Put a whoopie-cushion in my chair. Put fake vomit on my carpet. Make fun of my "big, saggy butt". But don't ever say I don't care about summer vacation, 'cause those memories are the last part of childhood I got left.

Benedict: All those years, I still thought about you. How you embarrassed me! How you humiliated me! How you destroyed my relationship with Muriel Finster, the only woman I ever loved!

TJ: That part still grosses me out, sir.

Principal Prickly: Shh.

[last lines]

Principal Prickly: But don't forget, come September, you're mine! I haven't forgotten about that "saggy butt" comment!

TJ: Hey, September is a long way off.

[Principal Prickly and "TJ" are dressed as guards]

Principal Prickly: You sure this gonna work, Detweiller?

TJ: Come on, Mr. Prickly. Don't you watch old spy movies? This trick is pure gold. (To guard) Uh, Mr. Benedict wanted to see us about a very important matter.

Guard: Hey, you two aren't guards!

TJ: Ruuuun!

Benedict: Oh, come now, Pete. There's no need to be rude. Not after I've instructed my men to provide you with special care.

Principal Prickly: Special care? That's what you call gagging me, tying me up, and taking away my pants?

TJ: How do you know that jerk?

Principal Prickly: How do I know him? We attended teacher training together.

TJ: You mean?

Principal Prickly: That's right, Detweiler, that man is a rogue teacher.

[flashback]

Principal Prickly: It was the spring of '68, it was different times back then, all of us young, idealistic, ready to change the world.

Mrs. Finster: Peace Peter!

Principal Prickly: Hey Murial, had a groovy time at the Dead festival last night.

Mrs. Finster: You gonna be at the teach in, Saturday? We're gonna paint my Volkswagen!

Principal Prickly: Wouldn't miss it for the world!

[voice over]

Principal Prickly: Yes, we all thought we were pretty cool back then, but there was one guy who was the coolest of us all. Philliam Benedict was my best friend, and he had just been named Principal of 3rd Street School.

Benedict: Look, Pete, the 60s are over. All that peace and love and freedom stuff, yeah it was great for picking up chicks, but it's not gonna help my career. To do that, I gotta make test scores go up. And to make test scores go up, I gotta keep kids in class where they belong. That's why tomorrow I am tuning out recess once and for all.

Principal Prickly: [voiceover] Needless to say Philliam's plan didn't go over like he planned.

Principal Prickly: I never saw Philliam again. He quit teaching, went into politics, eventually became Secretary of Education, until the president fired him for trying to get rid of recess again. Only this time it was nationwide!

Benedict: [in 1968] Pull up a bag, bro, I wanna rap.

Principal Prickly: Lay it on me, man.

Benedict: You see, Pete, I've been thinking, we're a new generation of teachers, right? It's time we shook things up a little.

Principal Prickly: I hear you brother, in fact, dig this. I was meditating to that new Ravi Shankar album last night when I got this righteous notion. WHat if we hold all our classes outside on the playground? Imagine, school, recess, no boundaries.

Benedict: Hey baby that's a hip idea but Pete I got a better thought here. As my first official act as principal, I've decided to get rid of recess.

Principal Prickly: What? No recess? But Phil! For a kid, recess is like a major play-in, it's the one time of day they have any freedom.