I've been looking for a reason to dislike Arlene Ackerman, the crazina of Philadelphia public schools, but I didn't think the reason would be this easy. Ackerman's handling of the South Philadelphia High School outrage, where Asian students were randomly targeted and beaten by black bullies, was a brutal demonstration of the woman's tin ear to sound of the obvious. If she can misunderstand the larger importance of this story -- and this is an important story -- she's capable of worse judgements and insensitivity.
I say I was looking for a reason to dislike her because while I agree with most of what she says, something about the way she says it puts me off. Ackerman is a strong woman who doesn't need her strength mentioned anymore than a beautiful woman needs her beauty mentioned. Which is to say constantly. The cascade of public accolades she has received from powerful civic and political and education leaders this school year, including her own, almost sounds like expected tribute.
But she dropped her guard in this South Philly High racial incident and she got tagged good square in the puss. The confident compassionate mask fell away revealing the stoney face of a bureaucrat both offended and unequipped to respond to unscripted events, such as a demand by Asian community groups to meet away from the high school. Her reply was both rigid and disdainful. As inelegant as it was revealing. It will be difficult for Ackerman to put a new face on this sorry situation. Any proactive effort on her part to reach out to the community will perceived as caving in and reacting to public opinion. In this, of course, is exactly what she should do. Reach out immediately to all involved.
My sense is she won't, not publicly anyway. And she won't because now that he has been roundly criticized publicly, she'll defend a weak position with declarations of protocol rather than excercise common sense. And when she does that I'll know for sure what there is to dislike about Arlene Ackerman.
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