The principal of the Classical Charter School in Tallahassee was told to resign or be fired after a parent complained that a sixth grade art class saw a “pornographic” photograph of a sculpture. It was a picture of Michelangelo’s masterpiece “David.” Considered one of the greatest sculptures in the world, “David” is a massive piece of marble that is the centerpiece of the Accademia Gallery of Florence (Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze) in Florence, Italy.
The Tallahassee Classical Charter School follows the Hillsdale College curriculum, supposedly based on the classics. The “David” is certainly a great classical work of art.
Dan Kois of Slate interviewed the chairman of the school’s board, Barney Bishop III. This is a small excerpt. Kois’s questions are in bold.
I tend to think of a classical education as being the mode in the 17th, 18th century, where you study the Greeks and Romans, and Western civilization is central. A tutor or teacher is the expert, and that teacher drives the curriculum. You’re describing something where it seems the parents drive the curriculum. How does your classical education differ from the classical education as I think of it?
What kind of question is that, Dan? I don’t know how they taught in the 17th, 18th century, and neither do you. You live in New York?
Virginia.
You’ve got a 212 number. That’s New York.
I lived in New York when I got the cellphone, many years ago. Now I live in Virginia.
Well, we’re Florida, OK? Parents will decide. Parents are the ones who are going to drive the education system here in Florida. The governor said that, and we’re with the governor. Parents don’t decide what is taught. But parents know what that curriculum is. And parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture.
Parents choose this school because they want a certain kind of education. We’re not gonna have courses from the College Board. We’re not gonna teach 1619 or CRT crap. I know they do all that up in Virginia. The rights of parents, that trumps the rights of kids. Teachers are the experts? Teachers have all the knowledge? Are you kidding me? I know lots of teachers that are very good, but to suggest they are the authorities, you’re on better drugs than me.
Please read the full interview.
I would like to give credit for the meme below. I found it on the Twitter feed of “Trump is Putin’s Puppet.” The person who posted it said was time to add Art to the list of bans.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I lived 16 years in Florida…not wise to go out in the sun without head protection.
So, Ron Ron spent too many hours in the sun? LOL
Perhaps this was overexposure to Glorious Leader Who Shines More Orange Than Does the Sun.
In the news today is the story of former Representative Joe Harding who was found guilty of fraud. Harding is the author of the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and he also sponsored the Parental Rights in Education law that prohibits discussion of sex and gender issues K-3.
Harding activated a dormant company during the pandemic and took out a Covid loan for $150,000 by making false statements about employees and revenue. He then fraudulently transferred the money into his joint bank account and made credit card payments from the account. Although he paid back the money, he was found guilty of fraud and will be sentenced in July.
Like so many elected officials in Florida, Harding is a hypocrite who acts as though he is on the moral high ground, but he is a run-of-the-mill grifter.
How sick, demented, and malignantly repressed would one have to be to see anything close to lewdness, licentiousness, or sexually compromising implications in the David and Renaissance art?
John Ashcroft putting a drape in front of the statue of Justice in the Justice Department building.
When that happened, back in the day, I thought, being that Puritanical must be its own punishment. What a narrow, constricted, twisted life he must have led.
Next thing you know they’ll have ban the United State map because Florid-A looks like a picture male genitalia.
Now that I think of it, not a bad idea — the least we could do is paste a fig leaf over it.
Stunning…simply stunning. The United States of America in 2023. How can it be?
Imagine the pandominaim if a teacher teaches five classes with 30 or more students in each class and every parent tells the teacher what they can or can’t teach, or they will be fired, but every parent wants something different. censored, banned or taught. That would be like having hundreds of bosses all with the power to tell you want to do or get fired.
What happens when a father doesn’t agree with the mother?
“I want my son taught about classical art without censorship,” the father says.
“Well, I don’t,” the mother yells back as she shoots her husband in the face, and then tells the police she feared for her life.
After all Florida is a stand your ground state and that is a license to murder, as long as you tell the police you feared for your life.
“In 2005, the legislature made changes to Florida’s self-defense laws. The newly adopted Stand Your Ground law allows individuals to use deadly force if they reasonably believe that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themself or another.”
Still, the mother may decide not shoot her husband if he’s the only one with a job or she’s living off of alimony payments, so that mother goes and shoots the teacher or principal or both, fearing for her life or that they might do bodily harm to her child by showing them an image of the marble David.
There is only one word to describe that situation: insanity!
Lloyd,
You are exactly right.
One parent can cause a book or lesson to be canceled.
Pandemonium.
Teach pablum.
I guess teaching anatomy is out of the question as well. When I was in art school, I was required to take “Life Drawing.” At first, it was odd to stare at a nude person for hours in different poses. But then, it wasn’t about that at all. It was about tone, value, light/shadow — no sexual innuendos pure artistic construction with conte crayon, charcoal, and graphite. As an art teacher for many years, one had to be careful. And, the first thing cut is art classes. In fact, the classes I taught for years, no longer exist. But along my journey, I remember this is what happened to an art teacher in Texas. Oh, the state of David has more context than just visual. DaVinci is out of the question. This and the Little Mermaid, right? https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/education/30teacher.html
What flavor is a “conte crayon”?
conté crayon
conté crayon, French crayon conté, drawing pencil named after Nicolas-Jacques Conté, the French scientist who invented it late in the 18th century. The conté crayon is an especially hard pencil, made of an admixture of graphite and clay that can be varied for different degrees of hardness. It is usually made in black, red, or brown and is used as a drawing medium in any combination of these colours. It is a great medium for drawing. Never tasted it, but is sure draws smooth.
I’ve tasted it. LOL. And I used to pose for art classes back when I was in college.
@Bob — You will appreciate this. When I told my dad I had a “Life Drawing Class” and explained to him what it was he said, “Well, for the first time you can say, ‘I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on!” Only something my dad would say. As far as models, I remember students paying for school as life drawing models. I think it was fairly decent pay. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Clarice?
Duane — Loved your 7/1/2012 blog post. It reminds me of the time I found a memo from 1995 about the happenings in our school district. I gave it to my colleague and she was reading through it. I said, “Marilynn, did you look at the date? It’s from 1995, and nothing has changed (it was 2021), eh?” Too funny, but sad at the same time.
Thanks for the kind words!
Why does your anecdote not surprise me?
How does on go about accessing old specific posts like you mentioned. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
@Duane — I just responded to your response and it took me directly to your blog with the post. https://thefwordedublog.wordpress.com Is this what you meant?
Thanks. I thought you meant a post on this blog from way back when.
However, David will be taught as degenerative art, along with Picasso (obviously insane), and Gauguin (too many bare breasts).
Hitler called it “Degenerate Art.”
Anything modern, anything by Jewish artists.
The interview was enough to make the eyes roll so much as to become permanently affixed in the upward direction.
Why did you fire the principal?
I didn’t fire the principal. I merely told the principal how much I liked him/her. And that he/she was fired.
What did Michelangelo’s David have to do with your decision?”
David had NOTHING to do with it! It was only part of it. It was the main part. So, nothing. Maybe something. Everything.
Is David pornography?
No! But yes.
What kind of teaching do you want?
Where are you from? New York? Why do you ask? How am I supposed to know what I want?
Do liberals deserve the same rights as conservatives?”
What? Hey, wait, that’s not fair. You’re twisting my words. No, they don’t. But, yes, they do. And really, no, they don’t.
And by the way, about the word ‘pornography’ and the statute of David, if anyone can successfully masturbate to that statue, my hat’s off to you! Pornography, my foot.
You really captured the nuttiness of that interview.
What do you see?
The artist sees a gift, talent, intricacies only the trained eye can see.
The not-educated, not-exposed to the arts, humanities, and meaning only sees a naked man. Body parts exposed. Maybe some content – “it’s that guy who was fighting with a ‘sling shot’ and took down the big guy (and only knows that because he heard them talking about the 15th seed team beat the #2 seed)
The principal sees men’s body parts and calls it pornography.
The legislator hears “naked” and calls it profane.
The parent hears “my teacher said…” and calls it coercion.
All three see a statue, names it, and walks away. Task complete.
The informed THINKS about it. Truly sees it. Wonders. Wanders. Curious. How? When? The story behind the story? (And, the artists see much, much more in skill, talent, process)
Two Americas.
Too simple but…
Literal and figurative.
Reformation and Renaissance.
Self-perception of powerless and perceived by the former to be empowered.
Victims and reason for victimhood.
(How else do we explain billionaires and hard working factory workers aligned as victims with no voice while others get welfare, supreme court protections (used to), affirmative action, freedom to emigrate here…
The last time I visited Florence, before the pandemic, I spent an hour walking around the “David.” Its massive. Hewn from a single piece of marble. Magnificent.
@diane — and as the story goes, the marble was flawed and any other artist would have taken one hit with the hammer and the entire piece would crumble. Only a skilled sculptor like Michelangelo could have accomplished what he did.
Florence is such a beautiful city and the Galleria is so beautiful.
It is mesmerizing.
And adding to “as the story goes” below (maybe the same source “This Day in History” podcast – -)
The Mayor Soderni saw it upon near completion and complained about the nose.
Rather than fight with the influential mayor – Michelangelo climbed up, hid the nose to ‘work on it’ and brushed dust from the scaffold hitting floor in front of the Mayor – who then pleased the artist had chiseled the nose for him and said, “You made it come alive”
There’s a message for talented educators in there somewhere.
Tell me about it. For years I taught art and was evaluated by people who knew squat about art methodologies, history’s and whatnot. I mean explaining the art elements and principles to an inept person but held the power over your job — NUTZO! I had my students (and these were students who had little interest in art history) analyze paintings. I told them, “This isn’t about you becoming some top notch art critic, but to SEE in a different way.” The kids did a wonderful job and one student said, “I will never look at a painting in the same way again.” I was impressed. It was a WOW moment for me especially with this group of kids. Admin observation: “One of your students had an ear bud in their ear while you were talking. You know that’s not allowed.” Failed to see how engaged the kids were with “The Scream” by Edvard Munch and “Starry Night” by Van Gogh. Yeah, you are spot on.
Here’s another “classical” charter school, one which is insisting that an indigenous child’s long hair violates their dress code. I guess the classical value here is “Kill the Indian, save the man.”
Not incidentally, this school has already been told it cannot require that girls wear dresses.
https://borderbelt.org/parents-push-back-against-nc-charter-schools-policy-against-long-hair-for-boys/
These stories are horrific. The residential schools in Canada hurt my soul. And all in the name of God, eh?
https://deadline.com/2023/03/florida-parents-michelangelo-david-statue-the-simpsons-1235309907/
Here’s a solution. https://wavefire.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/David-Lifeguard_poster.jpg
Perfect!!!!
@diane — Here’s the latest. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/david-porn-come-see-italians-tell-florida-parents-rcna76762