via Washington Post: Parents, be warned! There will be art in this art class!
Read at Washington Post
The principal of Tallahassee Classical School was forced to resign this week after sixth-grade art students were shown images of Michelangelo’s David and parents complained. Yes, that David. No, I am not making this up. According to an interview with the school board chair by Slate’s Dan Kois, the principal of the charter school was supposed to send out a letter from the art teacher alerting parents that the nude statue would be shown. I can’t stop thinking about what this warning letter might have said.
Dear Parents,
Just wanted to let you know that in this art class, we’re going to be showing the students some art. Will that be okay? You signed up for a classical education, in theory — at least, that word is in the name of our school! — so I had sort of hoped it would be!
Here is all the art we might be showing your children, with reasons you might object. Please let us know if you object!
Paintings inside the life-size Lascaux cave replica in Montignac, France. (Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images)
Lascaux Cave Paintings: Okay? Depicts violence, and aurochs are not demurely covered!
Venus of Willendorf. (Helmut Fohringer/APA/AFP via Getty Images)
Venus of Willendorf: This 25,000-plus-year-old terra cotta sculpture of a female form is not wearing a bra. Please advise.
The Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids in Cairo. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Sphinx: This has two strikes against it. It is a human-animal hybrid, and it is not wearing pants. Please advise if this is the kind of thing we are allowed to show students.