Word: barreness
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...reactionary-that is, a conservative who is not cute," is Donald Barr's own description of himself. To some of the militantly progressive parents of Manhattan's prestigious Dalton School, the very word reactionary is anathema, and some of the methods Barr has imposed on the generally permissive Dalton system in his seven years as headmaster have aroused fierce controversy. Just three months ago, dissident parents mounted a major effort to oust him, and were only narrowly defeated...
Judging from the contents of his new book, Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? Dilemmas in American Education Today, Headmaster Barr relishes such controversy. His collection of short essays and book reviews is by turns irritating, perceptive and amusing. It is also the work of a man who cares deeply about children and their education. Some excerpts...
...Your report [April 5] on the Dalton School was most unfair. Instead of heaping snide ridicule on the school and Mr. Donald Barr, its headmaster, you should have reported that a group of trustees, in utter disregard of the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the parents, has attempted to oust Mr. Barr. The P.T.A. removed Dr. Myron Hofer, the only representative of the parents on the board of trustees, from his P.T.A. offices because he failed to in form the parents fairly and openly of his and the board's actions. The parents will continue...
...weeks ago, a traumatic P.T.A. meeting ensued. Dr. Hofer, who once staged drug seminars at Dalton, was more or less accused of condoning pot for students. His defenders accused Barr of keeping black and Puerto Rican students out of the school. When Barr wandered in, his mawkish remarks about his uncertain future at the school drew catcalls ("Where'd you leave Checkers?"). One of his defenders received a Nazi salute. The combatants almost reeled back to their chauffeured limousines double-parked outside the school...
Last week Dr. Hofer's fate (and indirectly Barr's) was put to a mail poll umpired by no less than the Honest Ballot Association, which usually keeps things clean in union elections. Although the results are binding on no one, the parents voted 435 to 300 against Hofer. Mercifully, spring vacation began the next day. Barr vanished to heal his wounds on a two-week Caribbean cruise. But with national politics in a lull, Dalton's activist parents are sure to resume their new recreation of baiting or boosting Barr when the beleaguered headmaster returns...