"...much of their humor is scatological. It's embarrassing and you want to wring their necks," Would that be scatological or Eschatological? ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rebecca Fitzgerald Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 12:47 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: REsponses to nudity Even though we've pretty well established that the Texas case isn't directly about nudity viewed at the art museum, it is important for us museum folks to understand childhood development so that we can respond appropriately. 4th-8th graders are either on the edge of puberty or right in the middle of it, depending on individuals. As kids start becoming aware of their own bodies...they take a greater interest in the bodies around them. And of course a heightened interest in nudity, body functions, etc. If you've ever been around kids this age in an informal/relaxed setting you're surely aware that much of their humor is scatological. It's embarrassing and you want to wring their necks, but it's perfectly normal. If you bring this age group into an art museum without preparation you're likely to hear: "oooooh you can see the boobies on that statue" and much, much worse. Years ago I was making my way to a museum conference room for a meeting and passed several little boys staring at ancient statuary just in time to hear, "Look at the d*** on that one!" The problem was that their teacher had allowed the kids to split up into groups of 3-4 to tour the museum, leaving behavior management to the security guards. So...the kids were doing a self-guided tour, looking at the things that interested them! If only the teacher had given them some preparation and clues to look for in the art it would have been far different. (A good friend/colleague was with me, and we still use the boys' exclamation when we're privately describing ANYTHING of great interest.) :-) Becky Fitzgerald Susquehanna Museum ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Darryl MacKenzie Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 12:18 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: REsponses to nudity I wonder how many of these parents know their children are listening to 'immorality' in country and western music, or watching MTV, playing video games? We can go on and on about the relative 'morality' of different assaults on fifth grade sensibilities. Recently I took my children to the Bodyworlds 3 exhibit at Telus World of Science in Vancouver, British Columbia. The exhibit was treated reverentially by the exhibitors and therefore by my children, one of whom is a 7 year old with pervasive developmental disorder. He spoke in hushed tones. He did not focus on the nudity displayed, but on the beauty of the human body. If a 7 year old with challenges can understand this, so can normal 10 year olds. All this hoopla serves to do is create shame of the human body, including the bodies of the children seeing the display. Darryl ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).