After a charter school principal resigned over backlash, the Galleria dell'Accedemia in Florence, Italy invited Floridians to go view Michelangelo's statue of David to decide for themselves if they think it's porn.
When parents complained a teacher in Florida charter school Tallahassee Classical was showing images of the famous statue in a sixth grade class, principal Hope Carrasquilla was forced to resign.
The school's reasoning was they have a policy about showing controversial material to the students.
Carrasquilla believes the school board forced her into retirement after three parents complained about a lesson in a sixth grade classroom that included a photo of the statue of David.
The statue is a 5-meter tall nude marble sculpture created by Michelangelo in 1504. The work reflects the height of the Italian Renaissance and depicts the biblical figure David on his way to fight Goliath.
Carresquilla was in shock when she recieved the invitation to view the statue in person.
“I am totally, like, wow. I've been to Florence before and have seen the David up close and in person, but I would love to go and be a guest of the mayor.”
The director of the Galleria dell'Accademia, Cecilie Hollberg, discussed her complete shock at the schools reaction to the statue.
"To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art.”
She invited the principal, school board, parents and student body to view the “purity” of the statue.
The school has about 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school follows a curriculum designed by Hillsdale College which is a conservative Evangelical Christian school consulted by Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The chairman of the Tallahassee Classical's school board, Barney Bishop, claimed the statue was not the only reason for Carrasquilla's early retirement.
He stated:
"Parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture.”
Many people took to social media to convey their outrage over the targeting of the classical sculpture.
Other people pointed out the obvious.
The school follows an Evangelical Christian curriculum and teaches the classics, yet they couldn't appreciate one of the world's most famous religious statues.
Where are the rational thinking conservative Christians who recognize a religious statue from the 16th century doesn't constitute pornography?
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram