Teacher shows images of Michelangelo's David to her pupils: she is fired on the spot

The education of children is a fundamental function of a civilized society: children are the future and it is vital that they receive a proper education. It is therefore very important that children learn the importance of sound values from an early age. That said, there is a lot to learn, so children start going to school from an early age. Trying to provide a rich and comprehensive educational program is a complex undertaking: the subjects to be taught are varied and can be nuanced.

The subject of this story knows all about this complexity and found themselves at the center of an international media storm. Here is her story:

via Mirror

Hope Carrasquilla/Twitter

Hope Carrasquilla is a teacher at the Classical School in Tallahassee, Florida. Or rather, she was. The woman, who was also the principal of the school, was summarily fired after being accused of having shown obscene materials to her very young pupils.

Hope had given a lesson on the Renaissance and had shown her pupils images of the famous sculpture of David by Michelangelo. Some parents, however, were shocked by this: "One mother thought the David was vulgar because the statue appears 'naked'; another parent said that their daughter felt very uncomfortable during the lesson. I don't understand how art like this can be seen as obscene. At school we also study The Creation of Adam, but if you 'dressed him up' you'd be falsifying history," Hope said.

But Hope did concede that she was partly to blame for the uproar.

Wallpaperflare - Not the actual photo

At the school, there is a strict rule: the parents of pupils must be informed 72 hours ahead about upcoming lessons that deal with "sensitive or disturbing" topics. "Usually, the relevant teacher has the duty of sending out warning/advisory letters to the parents. Last year, letters were sent and there were no issues. For example, we notify parents when we are about to deal with topics such as 'the life cycle of animals ' and 'human reproduction', but this time, something went amiss. An advisory letter had been compiled and sent to the secretariat, but unfortunately, it got lost and, as a result, the parents were not notified about what topics the Renaissance art program covered," Hope said.

The news of Hope's firing quickly went viral globally, leaving many people stunned and dismayed - in particular both the director of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence (Italy) and the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella. The latter praised and supported Hope and invited all concerned parties to come to Florence to view the sculpture of David in situ in order to confirm "the purity" of masterpiece. "Art is civilization and whoever teaches it deserves respect," Mr Nardella posted to social media platforms.

This is a truly bizarre story that surely makes one wonder in which direction the world is heading, don't you think?