Florida, the “Sunshine State” of the USA, is known for many things: retired people who have moved here, crocodiles, sweltering heat – and for bizarre excesses of an increasingly merciless culture war between liberals and conservatives, even by American standards.
The case of school principal Hope Carrasquilla, who until recently headed the Tallahassee Classical School in the state capital of the same name, probably also belongs in this category. According to a media report, in art class Carrasquilla showed the 11 to 12-year-old students Michelangelo’s “David” – the sculpture of a naked young man. Complaints were then received from several parents. Two parents said they would have liked to be informed in advance about the theme of the sculpture. Another person stated that pornography was shown at the school.
As a result, the school board gave Carrasquilla the choice of either resigning or being resigned. The ousted principal said to the “Tallahassee Democrat”: “It makes me sad that my time here had to end in such a way.” In fact, a preliminary letter to the parents was planned, but was not sent due to a communication error. According to the school board, they recently enacted a rule requiring parents to be given two weeks’ notice when “potentially controversial” content is added to the curriculum.
According to the newspaper, there was unrest at the school after the termination. A teacher resigned and was escorted off the school premises by the police, another teacher started a petition against the behavior of the school authorities – he was then threatened with disciplinary action if he forwarded the letter.
“Parents’ rights come first and that means the interests of all parents must be protected, whether there are one parent, 10 parents, 20 parents or 50 parents,” school board chair Barney Bishop told the local newspaper. Tallahassee Democrats. Speaking to the Huffington Post, he added that the matter was just one of several incidents involving the director.
Florida has recently been in the headlines more often in connection with controversies surrounding the school system. The governor of the state, Ron DeSantis, wants to ban classes on sexual orientation for all age groups – so far this regulation only applies to elementary school students. The Republican is said to have ambitions for the presidential candidacy – in the coming months he could become the opponent of former President Donald Trump, who in turn wants to run again for the highest office in the state.
The reports have now also caused a stir in Florence, where the monumental Renaissance-era statue stands in the Galleria dell’Accademia. Even the mayor of the central Italian city spoke up via Twitter. “Confusing art with pornography is just ridiculous,” Dario Nardella tweeted. He will invite the former director to Florence “to express her appreciation on behalf of the city. Art is civilization and those who teach it deserve respect.”
The director of the Galleria dell’Accademia, Cecilie Hollberg, was outraged and amazed. “That is absurd. Nudity is not the same as pornography,” she quotes the Italian daily La Repubblica.
The David statue is the symbol of the Renaissance that puts man in all his immaculateness, as created by God, at the center. David is also a religious figure. “To make an association with pornography, you have to have a distorted imagination.”
The museum in Florence is one of the most visited museums in Italy, mainly because of the well-known David sculpture. The marble statue was created between 1501 and 1504. In the 16th century it first adorned the entrance of the Florentine Palazzo Vecchio – since 1873 it has been kept in the museum. Michelangelo’s sculpture depicts the biblical David about to launch a slingshot battle against the giant Goliath.
