After weeks of reading
about this case, it seems to be true that in the end one can only shake their
head and "simply bow to the absurd." After all, how much more of this
stupidiy can we fight? This entire episode is so ludicrous as to almost
defy common sense. Perhaps because my parents took me to museums
from the time I could walk, I have never seen exactly what the problem was for
Ms. Lawson or any other person who complains about "nudes" in the Dallas Museum
of Art or anywhere else. If Ms. Lawson was so concerned about what
her students would see, she should have denied the teacher permission to take
her students there. Or she could have explained to them, ahead of time,
what kinds of artworks they would see and would not see and why. It
sounds to me to be more of a case of people who where trying to protect
their own jobs while bowing to archaic, puritanical views about the nature
of art. I wonder if these same people
were equally concerned about the video games their children are
playing or the music they are listening to or what useless, politically correct
rubbish they are being taught in school. Perhaps Ms. Lawson
should re-evaluate her curriculum and find more proper areas of learning to
criticize.
Jeff Tenuth
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, Indiana
From the New York Times
(October 25,
2006)
Texas:
Art Teacher and District Reach Settlement by Ralph Blumenthal
A
veteran art teacher has reached a settlement with the North
Texas school district that had suspended her after a student caught
a glimpse of nude artwork on field trip. Under the settlement, approved Monday
by the school board, the teacher, Sydney McGee, gave up her job but will be paid
the balance of her $57,600 annual salary through next May. Ms. McGee, above, and
the Frisco Independent School District agreed not to “disparage” each other, and
the district agreed to add to her personnel file a 2004 letter of recommendation
from a previous principal. The agreement ended a dispute that broke out after
Ms. McGee led 89 fifth graders from Wilma Fisher
Elementary School on a
visit last April to the Dallas Museum of Art. Ms. McGee was berated the next day
by the principal, Nancy Lawson, who later complained in a memorandum that
“students were exposed to nude statues and other nude art representations, and
time was not used wisely for learning during the trip.”
Ann
M. Meehan
Curator of Education
LUMA - Loyola University Museum of
Art
820 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago IL 60611
312.915.7604
(direct)
312.915.6388 (fax)
http://www.luc.edu/luma/
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