Hillsdale College, a small, Christian classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan, has recently ended its partnership with Tallahassee Classical School in Florida after a parent complained that sixth-grade students were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art. The lesson included Michelangelo’s David sculpture, which features nudity that has been part of a centuries-old debate about art pushing boundaries and the rules of censorship.
The Florida school was licensed to use Hillsdale’s classical education curriculum, but its license was “revoked and will expire at the end of the school year,” said Emily Stack Davis, a spokesperson for Hillsdale College. “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,” Davis added.
Tallahassee Classical School’s principal, Hope Carrasquilla, resigned last week following an ultimatum from the school board’s chairman. According to Carrasquilla, one parent complained the material was pornographic, and two other parents said they wanted to be notified of the lesson before it was given to their children. The instruction also included Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” painting and Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.”
In response to the controversy, the Florence museum housing the David statue has invited parents and students from Tallahassee Classical School to visit the statue in person. Florence’s mayor also tweeted an invitation to Carrasquilla so he could personally honor her.
Hillsdale College provides K-12 curriculum in partnership with dozens of charter schools across the country. Despite the end of their affiliation with Tallahassee Classical School, Hillsdale’s K-12 art curriculum still includes Michelangelo’s David and other works of art that depict the human form.
