Principal forced out after students shown Michelangelo’s David

Tallahassee, Florida: A Florida charter school principal has been forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelo’s David sculpture.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the principal, Hope Carrasquilla, of Tallahassee Classical School resigned this week after an ultimatum from the school board’s chairman.

The original Renaissance masterpiece on display at the Accademia Gallery in Florence.Credit:AP

One parent complained the material was pornographic and two other parents said they wanted to be notified of the lesson before it was given to their children, Carrasquilla said. The instruction also included Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam painting and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

“It saddens me that my time here had to end this way,” Carrasquilla told the paper

Tallahassee Classical School is reportedly required to teach Renaissance art to sixth-graders as part of the conservative Christian curriculum it follows.

However, a new rule was reportedly passed last month by the school board that made it compulsory for parents to receive a two week warning before anything “potentially controversial” is taught.

Barney Bishop III, the chair of the school board told the Democrat, there were several issues with the outgoing principal but did not elaborate. He said parents at the school will have the chance to examine the curriculum and any photos used in it.

“Parental rights are supreme, and that means protecting the interests of all parents, whether it’s one, 10, 20 or 50,” he told the newspaper.

The David statue’s nudity has been part of a centuries-old debate about art pushing boundaries and the rules of censorship. In the 1500s, metal fig leaves covered the genitals of statues like David when the Roman Catholic Church deemed nudity as immodest and obscene.

The kerfuffle in Florida also prompted social media users to point out similarities to a 1990s episode of The Simpsons where characters debate the censorship of the David statue.

AP

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