Hillsdale College Revokes Curriculum License to "Classical" School Over Its Objections to Michelangelo's David

"This drama around teaching Michelangelo's 'David' sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become ... a parody of ... the actual aims of classical education."

Tallahassee Democrat (Ana Goñi-Lessan) reported yesterday, linking to a Hillsdale press release:

Hillsdale College is no longer affiliated with Tallahassee Classical School. Tallahassee Classical previously held a license to use Hillsdale's curricular materials. That license has been revoked and will expire at the end of the school year.

Hillsdale College provides a classical scope and sequence to many schools across the country as a free resource. It is important to note that Hillsdale does not advise or train the teachers, board members, or school leaders of these curriculum schools.

Hillsdale's relations with those schools are founded upon a mutual understanding about the aims of education. Education is a cooperative endeavor between students, parents, and teachers. Discretion, good judgment, and prudence are essential for that endeavor to be successful.

To set the record straight: This drama around teaching Michelangelo's "David" sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education. Of course, Hillsdale's K-12 art curriculum includes Michelangelo's "David" and other works of art that depict the human form.

For more, see this earlier blog post.

Comments

[Dr. Ed 2]

I’m not sure if it is appropriate for 6th graders — I say this as one certified to teach 7th-12th Graders.

What I find unforgivable was the “don’t tell your parents” — that is a very big red flag (with flares going up).

[Heedless]

You are not sure whether showing the David to sixth graders is appropriate?

Are you stupid, or are you trolling?

While we’re at it, what sort of incompetent licensing authority gave you clearance to be within 1000 yards of a high school student?

[Dr. Ed 2]

OK, it’s developmentally inappropriate. It’s rated “R” — you can’t show it on network TV, can you?

[John F. Carr]

I don’t know if you can show David over the air.

About 30 years ago when TV was analog, there were three networks, and it was hard to find porn online, one of the networks revealed that an upcoming show would show a bare female breast. The network had discovered or created a loophole. In context, the breast was being inspected for breast cancer. It was medical, not erotic. The FCC wouldn’t dare approve of breast cancer, would it?

[John F. Carr]

I may be writing about the 1994 made-for-TV movie “My Breast” starting Meredith Baxter’s breast. I saw the ads and reporting about the show, not the show itself.

[MrMxyzptlk]

Ah, the bad old days of porn. “Aye kiddy, in my day we had to walk to the porn shop! If they didn’t have the cat girl tentacle porn you wanted you had to take what they had! Even if it was just German torture porn! You took it and you liked it!”

I am guilty of that kind of talk myself being an early Gen X kid. Ah those horrible days before the internet when we had to rummage in our fathers shop to find a dog eared copy of Playboy or use the Sears cataloge underwear pages. Those were the days. Sigh.

[Dr. Ed 2]

SNL only showed it above the waist — and then did an actually funny skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=basNf0KaOrc

[Magister]

Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS had a picture of the statue without obscuring any part of it during his monologue. So, the answer is apparently yes.

[John F. Carr]

There was, and may still be, a policy allowing more indecent content after children are supposed to have gone to bed.

[gormadoc]

Colbert’s not quite that bad.

[Dr. Ed 2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckYDdmwXScw

[David Nieporent]

It is of course not rated R, since the ratings are done by the MPAA, and the “MP” in MPAA stands for “motion picture,” and of course Michelangelo’s David is not a motion picture.

I have no idea why you think it could not be shown on network TV, but you are of course wrong. It is not obscene, indecent, or profane.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Parents aren’t going to make that distinction.

Here’s the FCC regs:

“Indecent content portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive but does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity.

Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/obscene-indecent-and-profane-broadcasts

[MrMxyzptlk]

Which article are you commenting on? I reread this one and saw no such language being used. Schools have been trying to keep parents in the dark forever. It’s not a right or left thing. It’s a power thing. The unions have that power and want to protect their members from parental ire.

It’s my biggest complaint about the education business. There is a bumber sticker that says, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” It need to have a second line, “If you can’t, blame your parents.” This is the real mantra of the Teachers Unions. They want all the credit for successes but none of the failures. For every star pupil a teacher brags about there is a student they passed to the next grades level that is in prison. Why not admit to that student too?

[gVOR08]

Hillsdale, at least in this quote, doesn’t really say what they think the school, teacher, or principal did that Hillsdale objects to. They say they teach the David and the human form. So what’s their problem? Is their concern simply that the incident drew attention and bad publicity to Hillsdale and Hillsdale’s role in FL education?

[Brett Bellmore]

It’s a concern that the school in question is run by morons.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Hillsdale . . . education for people who don’t like education.

It’s an odd blog that chooses this story instead of far more important recent developments.

Carry on, clingers.

[George Grady]

Eugene,
I don’t think your headline is correct. My understanding is that Hillsdale College had revoked its license to Tallahassee Classical School before the recent issue with Michelangelo’s David ever arose, for other reasons; note that the press release doesn’t actually say what this revocation was in response to. Hillsdale seems to be just responding to this now because their name is mentioned in most articles about it.
Also, I don’t think the school actually objected to including David in the curriculum, although a few parents apparently did. What the school objected to was showing pictures of the statue without previously informing parents, so that parents could have their child not view it if they wanted.
I personally wouldn’t object; it’s one of the most famous sculptures of all time, and at some point it’s weird for someone not to have seen it, but it’s really not a big deal.

[MrMxyzptlk]

I find it hilarious that on the same day my Google Feed brings me the article about one side wanting to keep kids from seeing classical art because it is pornographic and one side wanting to rewrite classical literature to get rid of troublesome racial language.

Seems to me it doesn’t matter who is in power.

[mulched]

There is no “side” that wants to keep students from seeing the David statue. This is a conservative school that was teaching their students about it.

There was a small handful of parents at the school upset because the notification policy wasn’t followed.

[Dr. Ed 2]

And children were told not to tell their parents. That’s big.