David, Michelangelo i (1504), Accademia Gallery, Florence
A Florida school principal resigned on Monday after parents said his Renaissance art lesson plan for sixth graders was too advanced. The problems started when the pupils saw Michelangelo's David, which one parent described as "pornographic". The Tallahassee Democrat reported this information earlier this week. In an interview with Slate that went viral, Barney Bishop III, the chairman of the school's board of trustees, said that the administration had no problem with the sculpture itself, but with the way in which the teacher described it to the children as a "non-pornographic image" and with the fact that they had not been informed of it in advance.
Hope Carrasquilla, who served as principal of the Tallahassee Classical School but is no longer there, told HuffPost Thursday that parents are usually notified before classical art classes. However, due to a "series of miscommunications", a photo of the marble masterpiece was shown to the students without warning. According to Ms Carrasquilla, one parent was 'very upset' and said 'her child should not look at' the 16th century Renaissance sculpture of David. David is a character from the Book of Samuel who became famous for battling the giant Goliath. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, three principals have left or been fired from the charter school Tallahassee Classical School since it opened in 2020. Carasquilla has been in charge for just over a year.
The school uses the "Classical Education Curriculum Model", which is common in Florida elementary schools. This pedagogical model emphasizes the "centrality of the Western tradition" or, as the Tampa Bay Times puts it, "a historical focus on white, Western European, and Judeo-Christian foundations." Most of the time, this model is used in charter schools, which are government funded but run by private companies. However, conservative state lawmakers have taken steps to make it more mainstream. "At some point it makes sense to show the statue of David in its entirety," Bishop said. He also added: "We will determine when that is." "And it is not necessary to show the statue in its entirety! Maybe we only show the head to first graders. You can see how it works. It is not necessary to show the whole statue to show the hands, arms, muscles and the beautiful work that Michelangelo did in the marble.
This is not the first time that Michelangelo's statue of David has been talked about. At Expo 2020 Dubai, the Italian pavilion had a 3D printed copy of the statue, the same size. Reports, however, indicate that most of the replica was concealed by stone walls to protect its modesty.
Jean Dubreil
