--- Jen Gayman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> As I showed
> the teacher through the exhibit, we came to our section on the tobacco
> economy, which of course had a huge impact on life on the Eastern Shore.
> The teacher indicated that she would prefer to not have that section be part
> of the tour, because they are a Christian school.  I'm just interested to
> know if others have ever faced this type of request, and what their thoughts
> are on the notion of skipping over parts of history to suit the visitor,
> specifically in a docent-lend tour situation.

Okay, this would really irk me. You can't cut out a section of a region's
heritage just because you don't agree with it. Presumably your exhibit does not
advocate tobacco use but shows how it helped shape the Eastern Shore to what it
is today.

If you leave that part of the exhibit out, are you going to cover it up or put
guards on it to keep the students from looking at it when they aren't with the
docent? Imagine how disappointed the kids will be if they catch a sneak peak at
the banned section expecting mass nudity and all they get are a bunch of
tobacco farmers and barges. :)

Personally, I'd politely insist that the exhibit is taken as a whole or not at
all as it would be ignoring a large part of the region's history. I'd also
suggest that if the teacher objects to the use of tobacco that it would be a
good opportunity to talk to her students about it when they got back to school.
Depending on how old the students are, it might be interesting to compare the
tobacco industry of 100+ years ago to the modern tobacco empires of today and
how a seemingly innocent past-time has turned into a substance speficially
designed to make people addicts and snag them when they are young. (No really,
I don't have strong opinions about the tobacco industry. ;)

Deb



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