Quarks were proposed in 1964 and observed in the lab pretty unequivocally by 1977. By 1998 they weren't some weird new theory.
Which is to say, your (depressingly typical) English teacher shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt on this. She probably had a dictionary sitting in her classroom that could have told her what "quark" means and that they come in six flavors. But she didn't even think to reach for it. Nevermind actually going to the library like she probably orders her students to do.
Nobody can be faulted for not knowing everything, but not even trying to learn is unforgivable in an alleged teacher.
Which is to say, your (depressingly typical) English teacher shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt on this. She probably had a dictionary sitting in her classroom that could have told her what "quark" means and that they come in six flavors. But she didn't even think to reach for it. Nevermind actually going to the library like she probably orders her students to do.
Nobody can be faulted for not knowing everything, but not even trying to learn is unforgivable in an alleged teacher.