Teacher fired because students saw nude art at museum

[geoffrey taucer]

http://www.nbc10.com/education/9936513/detail.html

I have seen and heard a lot of really, really stupid things in my life, but this takes the cake as the absolute most retarded thing I have ever heard.

An award-winning art teacher who has taught art for 28 years takes her students to an art museum. This is, of course, after getting approval from the principal, and having recieved signed permission slips for every one of the students.

However, several of these students reported experiencing the mind-warping trauma of seing nude sculptures in the museum. Imagine! Nudity in art? WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT?

So parents complain, principal doesn't do jack to defend the teacher, teacher ends up getting fired.

[The Weekenders]

The things I take for granted sometimes.... like living here instead of there.... Oh well, I'm sure parents obsess and act up about stoopid things here too.

In fact, the other Weekender went through hell back during 9/11 when she dared teach the kids the Pledge of Allegiance and what it means (because there was so much flag-waving going on around the country at the time). Her principal didn't back her, either, when parents complained and another teacher put a WW2 vintage photo of a Hitler Youth saluting a swastika flag in her mailbox...

Losing a job, though, is the ridiculous bottom line...

[emmline]

The principal in this story is clearly the individual lacking a certain je ne sais quoi.

[Flyingcursor]

She really needs to take some kind of legal action.
The principal encouraged the trip.
The parents signed the permission slips.
They all knew, or should have known, the exhibits at the museum.

This was not the teachers problem and I cannot understand how the administrators can look themselves in the mirror.

Why doesn't the school board start telling parents to STFU.

And what about the parents who are anxious about the future of the art program? Are they fighting this or just cowering? I'll bet it was no more than 2 or 3 parents who complained.

Maybe they should have kept their kids home to play their Xbox and run around killing people and blowing things up. It's so much more wholesome than a nude sculpting.

I'm really getting to dislike these repressed, simple-minded, mindless sheep, fundies.

[brewerpaul]

Astounding... I wonder how many of those fifth graders HAVEN'T already googled "lichen" or "sex" and seen a lot more than an artful nude sculpture.

[Martin Milner]

I'm wondering if the same thing could have happened in the UK.

If the parents signed the permission slips, what recourse do they have to complain? If they were ignorant of the contents of an Art Museum, they shouldn't have signed the slips.

I'm hoping the teacher sues the board for unfair dismissal, gets awarded insane damages, then leaves for a more enlightened town.

[Tyler]

If she sues, she'll definately win. She has signed contracts from the students' parents releasing the school and it's employees from any liability (legally, that should include the exhibition of material that the parent might deem innapropriate). Depending on the labor laws in her locale, criminal charges could also be in order, as parents had already signed off on the matter, as did the principal.

Who wouldn't love to be that teacher's attorney!? If done right, each parent who complained to the school and also signed a waiver could be held civily liable, as well as the principle, the school itself, and the school district. If she's in an area that has laws like California, if the teacher wins the suit, the attorney can charge the city/school district (providing the district is public) for the attorney's fees.

[Loren]

Nudes?!?! Where........

Oh, none here, dang.


Seriously, just last night on the local News here in Boston they were reporting an a school that is seriously considering banning the playing of "Tag" during recess and on school grounds, because kids might get hurt.

Sheesh, it sucks to be a kid these days, no tag, no museums, what's next, banning spitballs?


Loren[/i]

[Martin Milner]

This will presumably have repercussions for other teachers leading school trips.

Right now I imagine they're making sure they have forms signed in triplicate ensuring the teacher is not considered liable for the contents of any part of the outside world that the parents have not bothered to learn about or visit, and their kids might take exception to.

[gonzo914]

Nudes?!?! Where........

Oh, none here, dang.

You are thinking of the "Post a Picture of Yourself Naked with a Bucket Over Your Head" thread, which was deleted just after I posted mine and everone agreed that they would rather hear more about pregnancies or quakers or whiskey/whisky or 9/11 conspiracies or the timing of Mark Foley's resignation than have to suffer through that again.

[Loren]

Ah yes, right. Well, glad I missed it then.


Loren

[Tyler]

You are thinking of the "Post a Picture of Yourself Naked with a Bucket Over Your Head" thread, which was deleted just after I posted mine and everone agreed that they would rather hear more about pregnancies or quakers or whiskey/whisky or 9/11 conspiracies or the timing of Mark Foley's resignation than have to suffer through that again.

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=586807#586807

[Scott McCallister]

Wow that's stupid.

The whole point of education is to prepare the student for real life. This should include exposure to art, music, literature, and magnanimity as well as death, war, and sorrow and loss. You need to show them the whole picture so they can assess what they are seeing for themselves. Show them the good with the bad, the carrot and the stick. This way when they are adults, they can at least attempt a balanced consideration of the world and how they will interact with it.

Honestly? I think she deserves a medal for taking 89 of the ungrateful little reprobates on a trip in the first place.

[jsluder]

The principal in this story is clearly the individual lacking a certain je ne sais quoi.

Wilma Fisher Elementary

Our Motto: "Never be anything less than everything you can be.”

Principal: Nancy Lawson.

...

The Fisher staff aims to develop each child’s full potential – in the classroom, on the playground, and in the community – not just during the school day, but for his or her entire life. We want children to experience all forms of learning as challenging and yes, fun, each day.

...

I think they need to revise their website.

[Innocent Bystander]

Better start making skirts for those piano legs again...