Nudes in museum get teacher suspended

caitlin1214

caitlin1214

tPF Bish
O.G.
Jul 7, 2006
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#1
A Texan elementary school teacher brought 89 5th graders to the Dallas Museum of Art. The next day she was called into the principal's office. The principal told her that a parent called to complain about the trip. The principal then went on to say how disgusted they were that the teacher would allow those children to be exposed to nudes and nude representations of art.


I personally don't find anything wrong with nudity represented in art. I would have a problem if that teacher took the students to see a Mappelthorpe exhibit, or something but it's an art museum! It's oil paintings and statues! What do you expect? It's like being pissed off that a teacher brought her students to see the statue of David.

Elementary school kids go to art museums on field trips all the time! They giggle about the naked people in the art, they have lunch and go home. It's nothing to get upset about or have a teacher fired over!

Should the parents have been informed ahead of time that there might have been works of art with nudity?
 
#2
At that age, I think so. Also, I really think the teacher should have planned the trip out better. I'm sure there are ways to look at the art without going by the nudes. Besides, you know how immature kids that age can be. If I had kids, I wouldn't mind, but would like to be asked.
 
#3
I'm so glad I don't teach in Texas! While I would never take a group of students to see a Mapplethorpe or Lucian Freud exhibit, I don't see anything wrong with taking students to see a Rodin exhibit, as long as we had a docent along to explain the reason artists choose to create nudes. Some of the greatest works of art--Birth of Venus by Boticelli, The Three Graces by Raphael, to name a few--incorporate nude imagery.

It's amazing to me that American society would rather children see violence than *gasp* nudity. What happens to these kids when they grow up? Oh, I know, they become John Ashcroft and spend thousands of dollars to cover a nude statue's breast.
 
#4
Wow that is so sad...the teacher seems like she/he was really trying to enrich the lives of the students.

However, if I was that teacher, I probably would have figured that there were bound to be a few ridiculous parents and have gotten permission slips that said there was some nudity.
 
#5
As a teacher I always err on the side of caution. You have to be very careful and make sure you're aware of everything that the children will be exposed to on a trip.
That being said, I have never encountered a problem with art museums. When I taught in NY we used to go to the Met all the time and there were many statues and artifacts that were nudes. I never focused our trip around them so it was never a problem. If the teacher was taking the kids to a specific exhibit that has nudes, she definitely should have told the parents. Most museums have special programs for school groups and offer teacher workshops beforehand so that the teacher can familiarize themselves with the subject matter.
I don't think she should have been fired. That's a little over the top.
 
#8
Geez, it's not like she took them for a roadtrip to the playboy mansion! It's a museum, of course there are going to be nudes there. I really wonder about the intelligence level of these parents if they weren't aware that an art museum would have nude paintings and statues.

And God forbid that these parents actually sat down and talked to their children about what they saw & how it made their children feel instead of putting all of their energy into getting a teacher suspended.
 
#11
I am not always critical about this country and there are a lot of things I love about it but when I hear or read things like this... I just don't understand! I feel sorry for that teacher! A woman who was going out of her way to enrich culturally the lives of those children. I mean it is art, not porno! I wonder if those kids had been exposed to an ancient Greek or Roman nude sculpture, would that have been grounds for dismisal also? It amazes me at how this country is at times so very puritanical.
 
#14
it's so weird how people don't seem to have a problem with violence shown on TV, etc 24/7, but as soon as it comes to nudity or even just one nipple there are huge discussions about how bad this is for the kids

I just don't get it :confused1:
 
#15
When I was in elementary school, we always went to the art museum. I remember all of us giggling at the naked people, but it wasn't corrupting me or anything. I wasn't doing porn and smoking crack at the age of 18 or anything because of it. Parents can also be so prude and over protected. That's why there are permission slips that the schools have the parents sign. The parents are told where the kids are going, and the parent signs. If they don't want them to go, they are left behind with another class.
 
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