Disallowing David
When visitors enter my home, one of the first things they see is a four-foot-tall nude woman: A painting that hangs in my dining room—one of many works of art created by my late mother.
The nude woman is leaning in a doorway—eyes closed. Maybe she’s realizing she forgot to do laundry yesterday and she has no clean clothes to wear to work. Or maybe she’s entering the room where her lover awaits. We don’t know.
Some folks startle when they walk in. Some are oblivious. Some comment on Mom’s talent. And at least once, a person would not bring a young child inside upon my invitation. I’m guessing it was because entrance would require an explanation as to why there’s a naked person on the wall. A family must protect its children in whatever way they deem necessary. One person’s “prurience” is another person’s art.
But recently the principal of a Florida school was caught between one person’s prurience and images of Michelangelo’s David, a renowned work of art created in the early 1500s that resides in Florence, Italy. Some might argue it is the most famous statue in the world.
David stands fourteen feet tall—and is naked.
The school in question declares. “Tallahassee Classical School is training the minds and improving the hearts of young people through a content-rich classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue”. And it’s required to teach lessons on Renaissance art to sixth graders. But after students were shown pictures of the David statue, three parents complained—at least one of whom declared the lesson pornographic.
The principal made an error. She was meant to send parents a letter of warning prior to the lesson—presumably so kids could be kept out of class on the day of the pornographic lesson if parents deemed it necessary. But she forgot. And it cost her her job.
It seems a hefty price to pay for one little paperwork snafu. It’s not as if the school took the kids bungee jumping without consent. But what’s really confusing is why a parent who finds David pornographic would send a child to get a … classical education in liberal arts and sciences… especially given that lessons on Renaissance art are mandated.
According to the school’s website, “students who graduate from Tallahassee Classical School will be trained in logic, rhetoric, critical thinking and advanced writing.”
I beg to differ. If one parent’s complaint gets the principal ousted because a child viewed a photo of David—a statue that can easily be found online or in books and magazines—how on earth is the school going to find the bandwidth to teach critical thinking? The system is geared to control—and even shut down—unpopular opinions, thereby negating opportunities to exercise scrutiny and reasoning.
There’s more. Buried in the Florida legislature’s upcoming expansion of the “don’t say gay” bill lies an avenue for the instant removal of school materials that any citizen in a school’s county finds offensive. In other words, books get banned before they go through an evaluation process.
I fear Florida schools will soon be producing ignorant graduates who lack skills for analyzing data and reaching logical conclusions. As this censorship trend expands across state lines, the so-called educated populace in “red states” will bask in an unfortunate naiveté that renders them unable to think on their feet.
And I will likely be required to post a “trigger warning” on my front door, if I’m allowed to have company at all.