The latest cancellation in the Florida war on woke: Michelangelo’s ‘Pornographic’ Statue of David

[outside shooter]

This was posted in the DeSantis thread but is kind of buried. It is so amazingly bizarre and stupid that it deserves a separate discussion.

A principal at a charter school in Florida, ironically called "Tallahassee Classical School" was FIRED after 6th graders in an art history lesson were shown photos of Micahangelo's David, widely considered one of the iconic art pieces in the history of human civilization. If you travel to Italy, I recommend reserving your spot in line to see it in person. I took my kids to see it when they were 2, 5, and 8 years old.

Some parents were offended by this lesson, because the David has a penis. Their 12-year-olds are apparently badly scarred by seeing said penis. The prinicipal was fired for allowing the viewing of said penis. The Tallahassee school is a public charter institution that focuses on classical learning, a teaching philosophy centered on a traditional Western liberal arts education that aims to impart critical thinking skills children can use throughout their lives.

No, this is not an Onion piece.

Why do I say that it is part of the war on woke? Well, that's the opinion of the school board head, who fired the principal:

“Parental rights trump everything else,” Bishop said. He added that the pandemic’s remote teaching gave parents a clearer window into their children’s education and prompted some to choose schools like Tallahassee Classical.

“They didn’t like the woke indoctrination that was going on,” he said. “We don’t use pronouns,” Bishop said. “We don’t teach CRT and we don’t ever mention 1619 — those are not appropriate subjects for our kids.”

Warning: photo with the article shows a PENIS!

Florida Principal Out After Viewing Of Michelangelo's 'David' Upsets Parents

One parent reportedly called the masterpiece "pornographic."

www.huffpost.com

Florida Principal Ousted After Parents Melt Down Over Michelangelo’s ‘Pornographic’ Statue of David

REUTERS/Tony GentileA Florida charter school principal has been ousted after multiple parents complained that their sixth graders were made to view pornography—because they looked at Michelangelo’s iconic statue of David.The statue was shown during a sixth grade art history lesson at Tallahassee...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Cthulhu85]

I bet these same kids have seen boobs in movies already and have the potential to access all kinds of porn on their phones ect. but a weiner made of stone is bad. OK, whatever.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

An Interview With the School Board Chair Who Forced Out a Principal After Michelangelo’s David Was Shown in Class

"Well, we’re Florida, OK?"

slate.com

Here's a interview with the head of the board.

Read until the end.

 

[mattndallas]

I feel bad for the kids and parents that have no other option but to send their kids to a school such as this. There should be public options made available to them if they feel the school curriculum doesn't represent their personal belief system.

 

[Circlejoe]

I guarantee this school board chair is doing some freaky shit behind closed doors. His 15 minutes of fame will return in a few years when he is arrested for some weird activity.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

I am unsure why a charter CLASSICAL school would see viewing David as something that needs prior approval. That is the very definition of classical.

On the other hand, telling the kids to not tell their parents is exceedingly wrong.

It is interesting that classical schools have come to be thought of as conservative. Ancient Greece had very very loose standards regarding sex, straight and gay. As did Rome. How is that square circled.

It is what is strange about modern liberal and conservative thought. Neither really follow their historical roots.

 

[Circlejoe]

I am unsure why a charter CLASSICAL school would see viewing David as something that needs prior approval. That is the very definition of classical.

On the other hand, telling the kids to not tell their parents is exceedingly wrong.

It is interesting that classical schools have come to be thought of as conservative. Ancient Greece had very very loose standards regarding sex, straight and gay. As did Rome. How is that square circled.

It is what is strange about modern liberal and conservative thought. Neither really follow their historical roots.

Um...why would you think conservatives don't have "loose standards" regarding sex? I thought conservatives tend to have wide stances in bathroom stalls. At least that's what I've read.

 

[mattndallas]

It is what is strange about modern liberal and conservative thought. Neither really follow their historical roots.

I believe Johnny Rotten said something similar.

 

[zeke4ahs]

I will say that was ridiculous of the teacher to say don’t tell your parents. I’d say she was joking, but in Florida sadly not.

 

[outside shooter]

Here's a interview with the head of the board.

Read until the end.

"...You don’t have to show the whole statue! Maybe to kindergartners we only show the head. You can appreciate that. You can show the hands, the arms, the muscles, the beautiful work Michelangelo did in marble, without showing the whole thing."

If this were a Saturday Night Live skit, I might think that it was too far-fetched.

 

[Bowlmania]

David is controversial? So effing troubling. This is right up there with the ban of the Hank Aaron biography because it addressed some of the shit he dealt with while playing minor league ball in Jacksonville in the '50s.

What the hell is happening in Florida?

The average American adult reads at a 7th to 8th grade level. And we're now letting low information and low intelligence people like that drive school curricula? Scary.

Let them home school their kids. The kids will turn out to be morons just like their parents.

 

[TMFT]

The average American adult reads at a 7th to 8th grade level. And we're now letting low information and low intelligence people like that drive school curricula? Scary.

Maybe the average American adult who reads does so at a 7-8 grade level. But I'd be willing to wager that the average American adult doesn't read at all.

 

[Bowlmania]

Maybe the average American adult who reads does so at a 7-8 grade level. But I'd be willing the average American adult doesn't read at all.

Agreed. We see plenty of evidence of that here. No reading other than what's on social media, which doesn't count as reading.

 

[Bowlmania]

As someone suggested above, the more pressing issue seems to be the trash kids can easily and quickly access on their phones. Why aren't parents more proactive in limiting screen time and content viewed, and pushing harder for legislation that creates liability exposure for online platforms?

But, sure, let's allow barely literate parents to drive school curricula.

House GOP passes parents' rights bill in clash over schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Friday narrowly passed legislation that would fulfill a campaign promise to give parents a role in what's taught in public schools. It has little chance in the Democrat-run Senate and critics said it would propel a far-right movement that has led to book...

apnews.com

 

[MrBing]

This was posted in the DeSantis thread but is kind of buried. It is so amazingly bizarre and stupid that it deserves a separate discussion.

A principal at a charter school in Florida, ironically called "Tallahassee Classical School" was FIRED after 6th graders in an art history lesson were shown photos of Micahangelo's David, widely considered one of the iconic art pieces in the history of human civilization. If you travel to Italy, I recommend reserving your spot in line to see it in person. I took my kids to see it when they were 2, 5, and 8 years old.

Some parents were offended by this lesson, because the David has a penis. Their 12-year-olds are apparently badly scarred by seeing said penis. The prinicipal was fired for allowing the viewing of said penis. The Tallahassee school is a public charter institution that focuses on classical learning, a teaching philosophy centered on a traditional Western liberal arts education that aims to impart critical thinking skills children can use throughout their lives.

No, this is not an Onion piece.

Why do I say that it is part of the war on woke? Well, that's the opinion of the school board head, who fired the principal:

“Parental rights trump everything else,” Bishop said. He added that the pandemic’s remote teaching gave parents a clearer window into their children’s education and prompted some to choose schools like Tallahassee Classical.

“They didn’t like the woke indoctrination that was going on,” he said. “We don’t use pronouns,” Bishop said. “We don’t teach CRT and we don’t ever mention 1619 — those are not appropriate subjects for our kids.”

Warning: photo with the article shows a PENIS!

Florida Principal Out After Viewing Of Michelangelo's 'David' Upsets Parents

One parent reportedly called the masterpiece "pornographic."

www.huffpost.com

Florida Principal Ousted After Parents Melt Down Over Michelangelo’s ‘Pornographic’ Statue of David

REUTERS/Tony GentileA Florida charter school principal has been ousted after multiple parents complained that their sixth graders were made to view pornography—because they looked at Michelangelo’s iconic statue of David.The statue was shown during a sixth grade art history lesson at Tallahassee...

news.yahoo.com

I object to the viewing because the statue is white.

 

[GiggityGoo]

But, sure, let's allow barely literate parents to drive school curricula.

Caricature the concerned parents all you like, but what exactly about the below do you find objectionable?

It would require schools to publish course studies and a list of books kept in libraries, as well as affirm parents’ ability to meet with educators, speak at school board meetings and examine school budgets.

 

[Joe_Hoopsier]

I object to the viewing because the statue is white.

But doesn't that help to enforce that the white "St Peter" is smaller? Isn't that good for y'all?

 

[outside shooter]

This is more than parents being made "aware" of the cirriculum, by requirement.

It is 3 parents being given the power to dumb down the education for the entire class, for absolutely idiotic reasons.

Sure, have the dumbest person in the room control everything. It would be like if we made a rule on the Water Cooler that only DANC could start threads!

 

[zeke4ahs]

Caricature the concerned parents all you like, but what exactly about the below do you find objectionable?

It would require schools to publish course studies and a list of books kept in libraries, as well as affirm parents’ ability to meet with educators, speak at school board meetings and examine school budgets.

I don’t think any of that is new. Most schools have always done that I’d assume. What is new is that if ONE parent objects, no one else can have access to the book, lesson, art, etc. That’s ridiculous.

 

[Ohio Guy]

I will say that was ridiculous of the teacher to say don’t tell your parents. I’d say she was joking, but in Florida sadly not.

That's what I was thinking. To be honest, that might have been more of what started this than anything. Had she not made a big deal of it like that, I'm guessing there might've been some juvenile chuckles about the statue and it probably would have ended there.

Based on one of the articles linked above, there seemed to be other issues with this teacher. I don't know if that's true or not, but telling kids not to tell their parents about something she was about to show them probably didn't endear her to anyone.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Not to totally thread-jack here, but there has a been a brouhaha where I live about permission slips that went out to approve taking middle/high school kids to a college production of 'Carrie, The Musical.' I'm on some of the parent facebook groups and the back and forths on there are pretty wild and span the political spectrum.

I haven't seen the musical, but assuming it's true to the original book (or movie), the main character is incessantly bullied and ends up using her telekinetic powers to lock everyone in the gym before burning the whole place down. Personally, if my kids really wanted to go see it, I'd say knock themselves out, but from what I could tell a lot of people from all sides of the political spectrum were mad about some combination of the story's depiction of religion (Carrie's mother), bullying and murdering classmates.

Totally different from that's being discussed here, but it was kind of fascinating to read the comments with the context of knowing how certain people lean politically.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Not to totally thread-jack here, but there has a been a brouhaha where I live about permission slips that went out to approve taking middle/high school kids to a college production of 'Carrie, The Musical.' I'm on some of the parent facebook groups and the back and forths on there are pretty wild and span the political spectrum.

I haven't seen the musical, but assuming it's true to the original book (or movie), the main character is incessantly bullied and ends up using her telekinetic powers to lock everyone in the gym before burning the whole place down. Personally, if my kids really wanted to go see it, I'd say knock themselves out, but from what I could tell a lot of people from all sides of the political spectrum were mad about some combination of the story's depiction of religion (Carrie's mother), bullying and murdering classmates.

Totally different from that's being discussed here, but it was kind of fascinating to read the comments with the context of knowing how certain people lean politically.

Going with this threadjack, below is a story about a school that wanted to put on Putnam County Spelling Bee. Some parents protested, it was cancelled.

The students and supporters campaigned to get it back, the original writer contacted the school superintendent who gave a list of complaints. A couple altered the story too much (basically everyone needed to be nice was a leap too far) but other items were changed and the play went on.

As one example, "good lord" was changed to "good grief".

I think that is how the system should work. Some complaints are over the top, some are legit in these cases.

 

[outside shooter]

Based on one of the articles linked above, there seemed to be other issues with this teacher. I don't know if that's true or not, but telling kids not to tell their parents about something she was about to show them probably didn't endear her to anyone.

The teacher wasn't fired, it was the principal.

As I understand it, the teacher decided to discuss David, told them (probably jokingly) to not tell their parents. But somehow the principal was held responsible for the "warning letter" not going out in advance to the parents, and this principal has apparently already ruffled some feathers in the past by showing yet-to-be-detailed hints of "wokeness", at least in the eyes of Billy Ray Bob the Board member, and his brothers Daryl and Daryl, and his sister Karen.

 

[UncleMark]

I bet these same kids have seen boobs in movies already and have the potential to access all kinds of porn on their phones ect. but a weiner made of stone is bad. OK, whatever.

Clay & Buck (right wing radio that took Rush's slot in many markets) were making fun of this today, which tells you something. One of them was saying they'd recently gotten back from a family vacation to Italy. Said he asked his 8 yo son what he thought about Italy so far after the first day, and the kid said "Dad, there are penises everywhere."

 

[outside shooter]

"Dad, there are penises everywhere."

My kids were more amazed at the incredibly high number of gelateria (ice cream shops). Gelato was definitely their first Italian word.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

The teacher wasn't fired, it was the principal.

As I understand it, the teacher decided to discuss David, told them (probably jokingly) to not tell their parents. But somehow the principal was held responsible for the "warning letter" not going out in advance to the parents, and this principal has apparently already ruffled some feathers in the past by showing yet-to-be-detailed hints of "wokeness", at least in the eyes of Billy Ray Bob the Board member, and his brothers Daryl and Daryl, and his sister Karen.

If we are to believe the interview as true, the principal has to take some of the blame on this one.

The teacher asked for a letter to go out about this. It did not. Why? Who knows, but the teacher took the steps and it wasn't followed through with.

I would assume the principal would know about said letter and why it didn't go out. I understand I don't live in Florida, but we get letters sent home about things that could be sensitive.

With that said, the kids are in 6th grade, so I don't find it a big deal, so I wouldn't make it a big fuss.

 

[T.M.P.]

This was posted in the DeSantis thread but is kind of buried. It is so amazingly bizarre and stupid that it deserves a separate discussion.

A principal at a charter school in Florida, ironically called "Tallahassee Classical School" was FIRED after 6th graders in an art history lesson were shown photos of Micahangelo's David, widely considered one of the iconic art pieces in the history of human civilization. If you travel to Italy, I recommend reserving your spot in line to see it in person. I took my kids to see it when they were 2, 5, and 8 years old.

Some parents were offended by this lesson, because the David has a penis. Their 12-year-olds are apparently badly scarred by seeing said penis. The prinicipal was fired for allowing the viewing of said penis. The Tallahassee school is a public charter institution that focuses on classical learning, a teaching philosophy centered on a traditional Western liberal arts education that aims to impart critical thinking skills children can use throughout their lives.

No, this is not an Onion piece.

Why do I say that it is part of the war on woke? Well, that's the opinion of the school board head, who fired the principal:

“Parental rights trump everything else,” Bishop said. He added that the pandemic’s remote teaching gave parents a clearer window into their children’s education and prompted some to choose schools like Tallahassee Classical.

“They didn’t like the woke indoctrination that was going on,” he said. “We don’t use pronouns,” Bishop said. “We don’t teach CRT and we don’t ever mention 1619 — those are not appropriate subjects for our kids.”

Warning: photo with the article shows a PENIS!

Florida Principal Out After Viewing Of Michelangelo's 'David' Upsets Parents

One parent reportedly called the masterpiece "pornographic."

www.huffpost.com

Florida Principal Ousted After Parents Melt Down Over Michelangelo’s ‘Pornographic’ Statue of David

REUTERS/Tony GentileA Florida charter school principal has been ousted after multiple parents complained that their sixth graders were made to view pornography—because they looked at Michelangelo’s iconic statue of David.The statue was shown during a sixth grade art history lesson at Tallahassee...

news.yahoo.com

David was obviously a gun owner.

 

[outside shooter]

I can understand letters sent home about subjects that could be considered sensitive or controversial.

But this is not an example of something that a non-ignoramus would consider sensitive or controversial. The sculpture being studied is simply not pornographic.

 

[GiggityGoo]

That's what I was thinking. To be honest, that might have been more of what started this than anything. Had she not made a big deal of it like that, I'm guessing there might've been some juvenile chuckles about the statue and it probably would have ended there.

Based on one of the articles linked above, there seemed to be other issues with this teacher. I don't know if that's true or not, but telling kids not to tell their parents about something she was about to show them probably didn't endear her to anyone.

Which goes to the heart of the problem. Too many teachers feel as if their role is confidant and not educator. “Don’t tell your parents” should never leave a teachers mouth. And teachers should never be withholding information on the mental or physical health of a child from the parents.

Too many lonely women in education looking for surrogate children I suppose.

 

[outside shooter]

Which goes to the heart of the problem. Too many teachers feel as if their role is confidant and not educator...too many lonely women in education looking for surrogate children I suppose.

The teacher was male and he wasn't fired. The principal was a woman and she was fired.

That much is clear from the pronouns used in slate.com interview, uttered by the man who insisted that he never uses pronouns.

 

[zeke4ahs]

Which goes to the heart of the problem. Too many teachers feel as if their role is confidant and not educator. “Don’t tell your parents” should never leave a teachers mouth. And teachers should never be withholding information on the mental or physical health of a child from the parents.

Too many lonely women in education looking for surrogate children I suppose.

Never miss a chance to be a misogynist. Quite a reach there.

 

[zeke4ahs]

The teacher was male and he wasn't fired. The principal was a woman and she was fired.

That much is clear from the pronouns used in slate.com interview, uttered by the man who insisted that he never uses pronouns.

Oh don’t alter his agenda with facts now.

 

[larsIU]

David was obviously a gun owner.

Slingshots were the guns of his time, so yes?

 

[zeke4ahs]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...ck-woke-free-tampons-in-schools-proposal/amp/. Another high jack but didn’t want a new thread to highlight their nonsense. No woke tampons in Idaho!

 

[T.M.P.]

Slingshots were the guns of his time, so yes?

He probably had an extensive collection of over sized slingshots that fired huge slingstones..

Hmmm, the Goliath story makes far more sense now..

 

[larsIU]

He probably had an extensive collection of over sized slingshots that fired huge slingstones..

Hmmm, the Goliath story makes far more sense now..

Slingshot rack and chariot nutz hanging off the back

 

[TomEric4756]

There has long been a dynamic tension between fine art and ‘indecency’.

Fine art apparently lost this time … but David as an example of an outstanding achievement in the arts has long been universally acclaimed, and accepted, since the Italian Renaissance (nearly a millennium now).

Assuming otherwise, was attacking the school that competes with public schools in its area to discourage future attendance, and clearly pursuing an agenda.

David was also likely an objectionable subject as a religious figure from the Old Testament.

The Bible is undesirable in public school libraries now too, as too adult for children… to much begetting?
… wife stealing? … murder? … can’t teach lessons about sin without saying what sin is? Or are the Ten Commandments just to moral?

 

[mattndallas]

Too many lonely women in education looking for surrogate children I suppose.

Here's a picture of my cat.

 

[cosmickid]

David is controversial? So effing troubling. This is right up there with the ban of the Hank Aaron biography because it addressed some of the shit he dealt with while playing minor league ball in Jacksonville in the '50s.

What the hell is happening in Florida?

The average American adult reads at a 7th to 8th grade level. And we're now letting low information and low intelligence people like that drive school curricula? Scary.

Let them home school their kids. The kids will turn out to be morons just like their parents.

Ron is getting buried in the polls (even though he hasn't announced) and he's desperate to try and strengthen his appeal to the batshit crazy crowd...

The Fla GOP is frenzily trying to change state law which requires the Governor to resign if he campaigns for a different office. Right now if Ron declared himself as a Presidential candidate he would be required to abdicate his throne...

Remember how the whole rationale for the "Don't say Gay" legislation was that it was only to "protect" 3rd graders and younger? Don't look now but (shock) it turns out that MAGA republicans lie. Who knew?

DeSantis to expand 'Don't Say Gay' law to all grades

The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades. The proposal is scheduled for a vote next month before the state Board of Education and has been put forth by state Education Department, both of...

apnews.com

I guess the MAGA world just doesn't grasp the idea that they are a minority, and that this type of far right pandering just makes them more and more unelectable in an election (not primary) where normal people vote.

Check out the midterm results of Trump/DeSantis candidates in purple states (like MI,PA,AZ) in 2022, and tell me how anyone with half a brain could conclude that this far right nonsense is a "winning strategy"? But that just explains why MAGA folks are so down on democracy- it exposes their minority status...

I wonder what the DeSantis lackey who proposed the original "Don't say Gay" bill is up to now? What other pieces of DeSantis inspired right wing dystopian legislation is MAGA up and comer Joey Harding designing to be pushed thru the FL Gerrymander chamber?

Turns out nothing, as he's trying his best to avoid prison...

 

[IUCrazy2]

Ron is getting buried in the polls (even though he hasn't announced) and he's desperate to try and strengthen his appeal to the batshit crazy crowd...

The Fla GOP is frenzily trying to change state law which requires the Governor to resign if he campaigns for a different office. Right now if Ron declared himself as a Presidential candidate he would be required to abdicate his throne...

Remember how the whole rationale for the "Don't say Gay" legislation was that it was only to "protect" 3rd graders and younger? Don't look now but (shock) it turns out that MAGA republicans lie. Who knew?

DeSantis to expand 'Don't Say Gay' law to all grades

The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades. The proposal is scheduled for a vote next month before the state Board of Education and has been put forth by state Education Department, both of...

apnews.com

I guess the MAGA world just doesn't grasp the idea that they are a minority, and that this type of far right pandering just makes them more and more unelectable in an election (not primary) where normal people vote.

Check out the midterm results of Trump/DeSantis candidates in purple states (like MI,PA,AZ) in 2022, and tell me how anyone with half a brain could conclude that this far right nonsense is a "winning strategy"? But that just explains why MAGA folks are so down on democracy- it exposes their minority status...

I wonder what the DeSantis lackey who proposed the original "Don't say Gay" bill is up to now? What other pieces of DeSantis inspired right wing dystopian legislation is MAGA up and comer Joey Harding designing to be pushed thru the FL Gerrymander chamber?

Turns out nothing, as he's trying his best to avoid prison...

View embedded media

I believe we welcome the fight and the opportunity to talk directly to the American people about what is usefully covered in schools.

This isn't it.

And maybe we do go out there and lose to Trump (DeSantis is beating Biden in polling right now and I pray he gets the chance to get on a debate stage with Biden so we can all compare and contrast) but that doesn't mean we are wrong. Fighting to keep people like you from running the country is a good thing, even if you win. Far left progressivism is a cancer.