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As a teacher, I would not choose either of those paintings for a discussion on color. They just seem like strange choices. There are so many other paintings to choose from that would have been a better fit for a lesson on color. It just sounds like the teacher was being lazy and didn't care to properly prepare for that days lesson.
We don't have the whole story, maybe not being prepared was an ongoing issue, or maybe there had been other issues with this teacher.
Those are possible factors. Or maybe he was required to use materials from the school library, and this was what was available. The whole story would be nice.
I'm pretty liberal and I'm old enough to remember, but I never knew any parents who purposely exposed their kids to nudity and sex in order to make them better people. Howard Stern is obnoxious and I have only seen a tiny bit of his horrible tv show when changing tv channels. He shouldn't even be on tv--if he still is on tv.
Oh, great. We're going to pretend that this attitude never became a "thing" at some point. It's all fantasy:
Someone calling herself a "weak", irresponsible parent for not being "strong enough" to feel "comfortable" with the idea of her kids witnessing her having sex. Claims that it's reinforcing taboos. And no, she is not a "nutjob." This was literally a prevailing attitude of "liberal parenting" for a long time (note the date, 2002):
Quote:
Witnessing your parents having sex
Shouldn't we be striving in this way to free ourselves from the dogmatic and limiting inhibition with which we are culturally programmed given that there is no plausible damage and substantial possible benefit? The idea of having sex in front of my kids makes me uncomfortable. But contributing to the sense of taboo that my kids will know because of not being open about sex seems irresponsible.
There it is...hiding sex from your kids is an act of irresponsible parenting.
But like most other people I know, that's what I'm doing. Maybe I can learn to be strong enough to overcome the discomfort.
As for everything you said, you are subscribing to the belief that anyone who's uncomfortable with nudity was brainwashed/indoctrinated/taught, etc. at home. And what I am trying to tell you and everyone else is that it's not necessarily true. Some people are shy, others are embarrassed. Has nothing to do with indoctrination. It's just how people are.
Some posters are hilariously prudish. Classical paintings (often featuring nudity) are genuinely educational. We studied them in my world history class in 9th grade and again much more extensively in college, including a trip to the MET to see a lot of the artwork in person. If these children are so distressed at seeing some nudity in art I think there are bigger issues going on at home with them. Probably religion related considering this happened in UT. Some parents calling depictions in old art “pornography” is all I really need to know. The school had these in the property, I don’t see how this is the teacher’s fault. It isn’t like he brought outside sources in, he used materials provided by the school. So was the school in possession of porn? Come on.
More than anything with that age group, I’d be worried about the kids snickering and not being able to take it seriously because of the nudity. I remember in 6th grade we had our first health/sex ed type of class where we all sat in a classroom together, in place of gym class, and had teachers tell us all about the male and female reproductive systems, with diagrams included. The boys thought it was hilarious. I can only imagine classical art.
^^^This. Except that, as someone said, it happened in Utah. Maybe the parents are very prudish and don't want their kids to see nudity. In that case, the school shouldn't even allow the pictures to be there in the library for teachers or students to access. You have to know your audience. Still, it's the human body and if it was a mistake, it should just be forgiven. I don't think any kid will have PTSD because of this.
If the kids were in 6th grade, yes, I can think of better choices to demonstrate color. Maybe the teacher should have looked through the pictures beforehand and taken out any that were too blatantly naked. Probably there aren't too many 11 year olds who wouldn't be snickering or embarrassed or would be so distracted by the nudity that they wouldn't even notice anything at all about color!
So the pictures weren't the perfect ones to show the kids. It was a mistake. Is there more to this story? Must be more if they actually fired the teacher for this.
Yeah, no kidding. That's why I put "liberal" in quotes.
She wasn't a nutcase, and you're being intellectually dishonest by claiming that "most" liberals would see that as inappropriate. Most liberals today would see it as inappropriate, but back in the day (like, 20, 30 years ago), many liberal parents thought it was beneficial to expose kids to sex and nudity as soon as possible so they wouldn't turn up with the sexual hangups of an older generation. Howard Stern's parents were definitely one of those types, as was Lena Dunham's parents. (When Stern was 12, his mother bought him a subscription to Playboy.)
This relative was one of those people who heard all of that rhetoric back when it was really popular and followed that advice. Of course today, she would do things completely differently. But when she had this kid, that line of thinking was definitely a liberal line of thinking. If you kept things from your kids, you were "sheltering" them, being Purittanical, uptight, etc.
It was the children who complained about the paintings and then had the teacher dismiss their complaints by insisting that they talk to their parents. Why is everyone ignoring this fact?
What does this "liberal" family have to do with the OP? These children saw postcards of classic works of art in art class. One boy goes home and tells mom he saw female nipples and that the art teacher says nude women are often depicted in fine art. Mom goes ballistic, teacher gets fired. Meanwhile your relative is a big bad "liberal" for taking her child to see nudity. I don't see the connection.
Perhaps from the comments Putin was correct in outlawing Gay parades with people carry sex objects and wearing risque clothing? Not really appropriate for the public to see.
Will San Francisco be banning these anytime soon?
Now paintings that's another story, and not at all offensive.
Perhaps from the comments Putin was correct in outlawing Gay parades with people carry sex objects and wearing risque clothing? Not really appropriate for the public to see.
Will San Francisco be banning these anytime soon?
Now paintings that's another story, and not at all offensive.
I'm pretty sure San Francisco doesn't take its cues from either Utah or the Kremlin.
It is, however, amusing to see - once again - the social mores of uptight, small-town America aligning with those of the Russian autocracy.
Is this a uniquely American thing, firing every professional who makes a judgment different from the shrill margin, right or left? (Liberals make these demands more than conservatives.)
Tell the teacher he shouldnt have done that, explain why (if you have a plausible reason), and get over it. No harm done.
Is this a uniquely American thing, firing every professional who makes a value judgment different from the shrill margin, right or left? (Liberals make these demands more than conservatives.)
Tell the teacher he shouldnt have done that, explain why (if you have a plausible reason), and get over it. No harm done.
I don't know if it's unique, but it's becoming commonplace in the US for the majority to be overruled by those who scream the loudest from either the right or the left, and you're correct that it more frequently occurs from the left.
Is this a uniquely American thing, firing every professional who makes a judgment different from the shrill margin, right or left? (Liberals make these demands more than conservatives.)
Tell the teacher he shouldnt have done that, explain why (if you have a plausible reason), and get over it. No harm done.
That’s why I’m thinking there is much more to this story, because ordinary a teacher would not be fired over artwork they got from the school library.
war movies on network tv depicting heads and arms blown off are acceptable viewing for children, but paintings by masters of partially nude women aren't?
That is an interesting divergence between the US and Europe, where it is almost completely reversed.
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The school had these in the property, I don’t see how this is the teacher’s fault. It isn’t like he brought outside sources in, he used materials provided by the school. So was the school in possession of porn? Come on. 
