Race, Class and P.S. 20's Controversial Principal
This weekend the Local’s Andy Newman followed up the extensive blog reporting on P.S. 20 he’s been doing with an article about Sean Keaton, the elementary school’s love-him-or-loathe-him principal. The story describes Keaton, who missed the Fort Greene school’s graduation last week—he was barred from attending by Dept. of Ed officials owing to assault charges…
This weekend the Local’s Andy Newman followed up the extensive blog reporting on P.S. 20 he’s been doing with an article about Sean Keaton, the elementary school’s love-him-or-loathe-him principal. The story describes Keaton, who missed the Fort Greene school’s graduation last week—he was barred from attending by Dept. of Ed officials owing to assault charges he’s facing for allegedly beating up a teacher’s union rep—as being at the center of a race-class divide: “In the resurgent brownstone bastions of Fort Greene, Boerum Hill and the fringes of Park Slope, affluent parents with one set of expectations for their children’s education — progressive, hands-on, emphasizing freedom — are clashing with longtime, working-class residents who prefer stricter, more structured educational models like the one Mr. Keaton favored, leaving principals caught in the crossfire…At P.S. 20, some of the conflict has been tinged with race: Mr. Keaton is black, as are three-quarters of the students, while many of the families who said they found him hard to work with are white. Much of it has to do with class. Some comes down to personal style: Even many of Mr. Keaton’s supporters say he can be abrasive and inclined to escalate rather than defuse tensions.” In a poll of Brownstoner readers a couple months ago that ran before the assault charges, 47 percent of you said Keaton should be removed from the school; 17 percent said he should stay; and 36 percent said you didn’t know enough about the issue to have an opinion one way or the other.
As Cultures Clash, Brooklyn Principal Faces Assault Charges [NY Times]
PS 20: It’s a Long Story [The Local]
Time for PS 20 Principal to Get The Boot? [Brownstoner]
Photo from the Bridge & Tunnel Club.
Brooklynnative is a big man behind his login. Probably looks like this in real life:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/enfantprovocateur.htm
Let’s see if the what’s really anti racism with the use of the “honkies” word above or is it just a one-way street.
Brooklynnative lemme get a dollar.
Yes how dare these yuppies insist a school be for learning and exploration when they should know what the NYC publuic schools are, a daycare for working mothers meant to instill fear, FEAR…
Rob, for christ’s sake get a grip! you were one too, you know…how did your parents treat you? Or is the problem?
Yes, there are overprotective parents and those who take any disciplining their kids badly, but on the surface this principal does not seem to be right, if the reporting is right.
As one who grew in very strict schools and whose son is going to ICE (probably the loosest public school in NY,) I am heavily in the other camp. My son had problems with his V grade teacher this year; while I never took issue with her, I know it’s because of his slightly anti-authoritarian and contrary nature (which I will admit I/we must’ve fostered.) But had it occurred earlier or more often, believe me I would have protested to the administration.
“Mr. Segarra (the Union Rep) said that at one point, Mr. Keaton began poking him and, when Mr. Segarra would not back down, hitting him (or kicking him) at least 20 times….The police said a stomp print on his head matched the tread of Mr. Keaton’s shoe….Mr. Keaton’s supporters remained steadfast. “He’s straightforward and he pulls no punches.”
He don’t pull no punches and he don’t stop his foot from hitting some white cracker upside the head either. I say that’s the kind of dedication we need from teachers and administrators alike. I bet some White Honkies are going to complain, they’re going to claim that “stomp prints” on the face are going too far. They just don’t get it, (unless whenb Keaton is stomping on their faces) and should move the hell out of Crooklyn. Right What!!??
I work with a demanding public, it is always wise to allow access and to listen to their concerns. I used to work with a slightly apathetic public, and my colleagues and I would comment on how apathetic publics are easier to work with and “better” – no one to hassle you and your decisions, which SOUNDS horrible but really it’s just a way of saying we were allowed to be professionals and to enforce standards as we saw fit.
My impression is that he is a capable manager who has zero time or skill in public relations, even the pr between parents and himself and the administration. That is a seriously unwise and problematic thing, however it is correctable.
I would send him to some sort of leadership academy or put in a temporary veteran part-time person to mentor the guy or advise him in handling the public. A huge portion of a principal’s job is to deal with parents, except when it’s to deal with a school rife with issues. Sadly the parents were a ready-made sounding board for the issues he must have been facing daily, a board he apparently disliked.
The issues at PS 20 may be “tinged with race,” but Mr. Keaton is not qualified for the job if he can’t handle the parents without them turning on him. His school is not in a unique situation, and other principals in the neighborhood have managed the same issues. Judging from some of the things he’s written and the allegations of assualt, he seems at times irrational and unstable. It’s a tough job, and he seems not to be able to handle it, that’s all.
“The assault angle definitely makes it juicier. ”
Yeah, here’s a principal who ‘goes to bat’ for his kids. What’s not to like?
Yeah, I remember when union reps were always the toughest guys on the block!