A teacher inTexas was fired, do you agree ?

Question

A fifth grade teacher was fired after taking her Art class to a Art museum, it seems a parent made a stink about the kids being exposed to nudity ,statues and paintings so the Art teacher was dismissed. This was on NBC news this morning.

The teacher is a woman and it was said by the museum curator that the exhibit would be considered a G rating by anyones standards.

Answer 1

Oh, my goodness, what a world! The school gets the Stupid Award, for firing the teacher! No wonder kids are so ignorant about the world, they have iditiot parents. Schools try hard to enlighten kids and introduce them to culture. The parent, obviously, never having been in a museum, thought the statues were REAL! It goes to show that America is quickly going down a slippery slopes, no wonder other countries have such a negative view of the USA.

I'm embarassed for my homestate of Texas. There are a lot of unsophisticated people in the state, and she, is obviously one of them. She probaly is not familiar with the word "museum."

I have fond memories, as child, going to museum outings. Fortunately parents weren't as stupid then, as they seem to be now.

Answer 2

I think the parent of the student who complained is delusional if they think their son/daughter has not already been exposed to much worse. Teachers have no control over public places like the museum, and the parents had to sign a release for their child to go - they should have known there would be some nudity! It's a museum! And like the teacher said on the Today show this morning - nudity in art shouldn't even be considered "naked" in the usual sense.
She deserves to teach in a school that will back her up, not bend to the first complaining parent and fire her.

Answer 3

Depends. Was this teacher following a state approved school curriculum? Was the field trip approved by the proper school authorities? If the answers were "yes" then the teacher can sue for wrongful termination.

As for the parent, did he or she sign the field trip permission slip? If yes, then that parent had no right to object after the fact.

Personally, I love art museum and seeing different works of art. Interpretation is wonderful in the art world and I detest censorship in the arts.

Answer 4

Only in Texas, eh? Coincidence that that's where Pres Moron hails from. Sorry to all Texans who may be reading this. The parent must have been related to Donald "Rummy the Dummy" Rumsfeld. Remember, he's the freak who wanted clothes put on all the statues because nudity *even in art* offends him. Well, he works for Pres Moron so it makes sence to me. I'm sure that poor teacher will be hired again very soon. I pity the poor kid who has that anal retentive idiot for a parent mostly, though. I wonder what that parent's idea of culture is: spray cheese in a can and Jerry Springer??

Answer 5

Well, it depends on what kind of pictures they were. I know pretty disturbing art pieces as well and I would not want my children to be exposed and forced to understand that kind of art.

Where do you draw the line then?.. I think the line should be drawn by the legal system with the assumption that it reflects the values of the society that it belongs.

I doubt it but if the above is true, i.e. the legal system reflects the values of the society, then noone outside of that society (in this case Texas) has any rights to judge the judge for ruling as such.

Answer 6

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/education/30teacher.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1160020800&en=d382c0ea5a8ee6c2&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

just one article that gives some info. there's lots of information missing: the exact complaint of the child, for one.

ms. mcgee won the teacher of the month award in 2004 and has several positive teaching reports from school regarding her teaching, including positive reports from other parents.

it's possible the school is trying to explain their actions by looking for other reasons and making up excuses about this teacher. or it's possible that the museum complaint was the last straw of incompetence. each side is saying something different and we need more facts.

the school principle and adminstration did approve the trip to the museum. so, for this particular case, we need to see when more information surfaces.

overall on this topic, art is beautiful and many people are way too uptight about it. sexuality has become so taboo. why is the david dangerous for our children? why is it very likely that those parents who ban the david or clothe the nude statues bought their children mortal combat or allowed them to see kill bill? i'd rather my child grow up knowing art and history and culture than what it looks like to shoot someone in the face at close range or slice them too pieces.

Answer 7

No, I do not agree. If anything I think the PARENT should be fired from their job of being a bad, narrow minded, short sighted parent.
Art, nudity or not, is the essence of human creativity. To shut someone off from it is sacrilege. Same goes for banning books. There is a lady in Georgia trying to ban Potter books again. She should be bltch-slapped and sent to live in Iraq with the other nuts.

Answer 8

So, children can't go to museums anymore either, huh?

My parents had an art book when I was a child and there were all kinds of nudes in there, it didn't disrupt my childhood and it didn't corrupt me.

Answer 9

What kind of school would dismiss a teacher for trying to broaden these children's horizons? The parents probably called "David" that nekked guy.

Answer 10

I think the parent needs counseling and the teacher needs a good lawyer! No, I do not agree. There had to be permission slips and stuff, right?