A picture paints a thousand words.
This means that an image can tell many stories, and that is how it was for the picture of a renowned Renaissance art sculpture.
Michaelangelo’s famous David sculpture has cost a principal her employment in Florida.
Hope Carrasquilla lost her job when she decided to show a picture of the said artwork during her class.
Parents of three students complained upon learning that their children saw the image, which was against the school’s guidelines.
According to the school policy, teachers should notify parents before teaching “potentially controversial” content.
In the implemented rule, teachers should give parents a written notice two weeks before the scheduled lesson for them to review the material.
Some of the parents were upset because they did not know about the field trip beforehand.
The school annually has a lesson on Renaissance Art, which includes some of Michaelangelo’s art that contains nudity, and letters are sent out in advance to give them the option to exclude their children from the lesson.
But this year, the principal could not due to miscommunications.
Carrasquilla was immediately called into an emergency school board meeting.
During the meeting, Hope was forced to resign and leave before even reaching a year of her tenure.
The management of Tallahassee Classical sees the situation in favor of parental rights.
However, the people who learned about her situation have different opinions than the school board.
One of the parents whose children were also enrolled in the same institution was shocked to hear about the verdict for the principal.
The people from the internet expressed their dismay towards the course of action towards Carrasquilla.
They even shared how the same image can be found in shows and games children are commonly exposed to nowadays.
Hope’s story has gained much attention that she was even invited to see the artwork in person!
Art experts from Italy were shocked to learn about the commotion over the iconic statue.
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nadella, extended an invitation to Hope so she could view the sculpture which was an essential piece of history.
He even expressed his dismay that the said art was coined “pornography” by others.
The controversy was also seen timely with the bill issued by the Florida governor.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill emphasizing parental rights in education.
Others see the proposed law as oppressive and create marginalization of LGBTQ children.
The bill states that there should be a limit on the inclusion of curriculum on sexual orientation or gender identity that may seem age or developmentally inappropriate.
So much tension in David’s sculpture!
Even the director of Galleria dell’Accademia, Cecilie Hollberg, could not believe all the complaints.
She was also surprised to learn that the icon of art was seen as pornographic and believes that such comprehension lacks knowledge of the Bible and Western culture.
What a rollercoaster of views and feelings over such great art.
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