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The more I think about it, the more I think that I too would have made a complaint to the school. The above painting is completely inappropriate to be showing 10/11 year old children for a lesson on color. What were they expected to talk about with this painting, the color of her nipples and pubic hair?
And it has nothing to do with being prude, or not appreciating art. I am far from a prude, and my SO got his degree in art history. We go to art museums all the time, especially when on vacation. I would have no problem with my child seeing nude art. This was just not a good example. Something like The Birth of Venus has more to discuss in terms of color.
He got the postcards from the school library. He states he didn't know there were the objectionable cards in there, although clearly he did because he warned the class ahead of time. But STILL. OH MY GOSH.
Do we not want 5th graders to know what the human body looks like? It almost seems mentally ill, to think that 5th graders should be shielded from art of simple nudity from the Renaissance.
I have to think there's more to this.
There is - it's called "christian fundamentalism." Or as you said earlier, mental illness.
The more I think about it, the more I think that I too would have made a complaint to the school. The above painting is completely inappropriate to be showing 10/11 year old children for a lesson on color. What were they expected to talk about with this painting, the color of her nipples and pubic hair?
And it has nothing to do with being prude, or not appreciating art. I am far from a prude, and my SO got his degree in art history. We go to art museums all the time, especially when on vacation. I would have no problem with my child seeing nude art. This was just not a good example. Something like The Birth of Venus has more to discuss in terms of color.
Then I think the bigger question is why does an elementary school have these paintings at all in the first place?
Then I think the bigger question is why does an elementary school have these paintings at all in the first place?
Perhaps no one had ever looked through the whole set of painting reproductions before. Not saying thats a good excuse, but it seems a likely possibility to me.
I'm no prude, and I have no problem with this teacher or the materials, but I do think that parents of elementary age children should have control over what they deem appropriate for their children to see. I won't always agree with other parents' decisions, but it should be their decision to make. However, from what I've read, it seems that firing this teacher is an over-reaction.
The more I think about it, the more I think that I too would have made a complaint to the school. The above painting is completely inappropriate to be showing 10/11 year old children for a lesson on color. What were they expected to talk about with this painting, the color of her nipples and pubic hair?
And it has nothing to do with being prude, or not appreciating art. I am far from a prude, and my SO got his degree in art history. We go to art museums all the time, especially when on vacation. I would have no problem with my child seeing nude art. This was just not a good example. Something like The Birth of Venus has more to discuss in terms of color.
except of course that these images were not specifically selected by the teacher. He used a set of postcards owned by the school and kept in the school library and told the students to look through those postcards to find examples of color usage. They were not expected to discuss every single postcard.
To the extent these images are problematic (and of course not everyone agrees they are), then whoever decided to purchase this Art Box and keep it in the school library are even more to blame than the individual teacher.
Then I think the bigger question is why does an elementary school have these paintings at all in the first place?
Exactly. It's very strange. There are so many other classic paintings out there, some that I think would be more delightful and entertaining to kids than erotic nudes. They don't have Renoir? Van Gogh? Monet? Da Vinci? Why the Modigliani and Boucher?
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I wonder if any of the parents/school administrators who found renaissance art nudes objectionable to children had any problem with these images that are aimed at a 4-6 year old audience of girls:
My take away from the article is that he used the entire set, not picking and choosing pictures to hand out. I don't see the two offending pictures as overly erotic, maybe a little questionable simply because children at that age are often very body conscious and easily stimulated or embarrassed by sexuality in any form.
They are erotic, especially the Boucher. He was known for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
ETA, your post is full of coulda, woulda, shoulda. Parents and school officials need to stick with the facts of what happened, not what people might think if they looked up other paintings or artists works.
Yes, it is, to counter the ignorant comments by people labeling the parents as being "typical Mormons", prudes and in a later post, "mentally ill." Why do you have an issue with me trying to give the parents the benefit of the doubt but not with people making bigoted remarks about their background, knowing nothing about what they're like?
except of course that these images were not specifically selected by the teacher.
Which was lazy planning on his part. I don't care if he got the box from the school library, he should have still gone through the box to make sure the paintings worked with the planned lesson. My school's curriculum has suggested videos to go along with certain lessons. I still view the videos ahead of time to be sure it works with the lesson, and to know what exactly we will discuss. I would never show a video, even if approved by the school, without first viewing it. It is part of lesson planning and part of my job as a teacher.
Perhaps no one had ever looked through the whole set of painting reproductions before. Not saying thats a good excuse, but it seems a likely possibility to me.
I'm no prude, and I have no problem with this teacher or the materials, but I do think that parents of elementary age children should have control over what they deem appropriate for their children to see. I won't always agree with other parents' decisions, but it should be their decision to make. However, from what I've read, it seems that firing this teacher is an over-reaction.
How does that work?
I mean, if you're sending your child to a school with over 400 students (ie, the school in this example) how does it work that you give control to 400+ sets of parents with 400+ ideas of what is appropriate? There are elections for school boards. There are forums where parents can give input. But, guess what? In the end, it's going to be administration and teachers who make the final decision. Each of the 400+ sets of parents aren't going to be individually going through the library and all other educational materials and having veto power over everything you happen to dislike.
This doesn't speak to this specific issue, but the idea that every parent can pre-empt whatever they find objectionable is about as unworkable a proposal as I've ever heard. Aside from previewing all educational materials, how could a parent ever hope to root all that meets their subjective notions of appropriate? Sure, I get that some of the time a subject is obvious. I remember the parents who yanked their kids out of sex education - because ignorance is the best solution (never mind that a lack of sec education positively correlates with higher teen pregnancy rates, not to mention higher STD infection rates). And then there's evolution - scary science of the devil! Someone reads The Lorax in class in timber country, and just watch the reaction (not kidding - google it).
No curriculum is going to be tailored around the likes and dislikes of any one specific parent.
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