The firing of a school principal in Tallahassee, Florida has caused quite a stir in recent days.
• Read more: School principal fired for showing Michelangelo’s David in class
Hope Carrasquilla initially told American media that she lost her job because she was shown a photo of Michelangelo’s famous David in class. The news generated several reactions as many lamented that the Florida education system had censored the broadcast of a historical masterpiece.
However, it appears that this is not exactly, or at least not the only, reason why the principal of the Tallahassee Classical School was fired.
In an interview with CNN, Ms. Carrasquilla admitted that the relationship between the school administration and herself had deteriorated over the past year because the principal did not always follow procedure.
“The head of the commission was not happy with my work,” he said.
School board president Barney Bishop told CNN it’s increasingly clear the school needs to go in a different direction under different leadership. He reportedly told Hope Carrasquilla about this several times.
“She wasn’t fired because of the story of Michelangelo’s David,” says Mr Bishop.
She says Renaissance art is taught in the class every year, but the problem is that Ms. Carrasquilla failed to follow a procedure that requires parents to be warned that a film featuring nudity will be shown in class.
“We are not trying to ban photography. We believe it’s a beautiful job, but we’re going to make sure parents’ rights are a priority,” the school board president explained.
Mr. Bishop stresses that it is not a question of parents deciding what should be taught in class, but it is important to warn them if potentially shocking subjects or images are discussed.
The school board president said 97% of parents had no problem with Michelangelo’s David, but some had complaints.
“If a parent makes a complaint and we don’t follow the procedure, we have to make sure we don’t repeat this mistake”, maintains Barney Bishop.
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