A Florida Principal Forced to Resign After Showing Students Sculpture

A Florida school principal went to see Michelangelo's famous sculpture of the Biblical figure David after being urged to resign because parents apparently complained about their sixth-grade children seeing it in a lesson.

According to the Washington Post, "there is nothing wrong with the human body in and of itself," former Tallahassee Classical School principal Hope Carrasquilla said in a statement from the museum.

Carrasquilla, according to the journal, compared visiting the sculpture to going to church and praised its "purity" and "humanness."

"David," sculpted by Michelangelo about the year 1500, is regarded as a masterpiece by critics and is one of the world's most recognised works of art.

According to the publication, Galleria director Cecilie Hollberg stated that she was "delighted" to exhibit Carrasquilla the artwork and that it represented "the religious principle of good triumphing over evil."

She went on to say that it has "nothing to do with pornography," which contradicts what one parent at Tallahassee Classical School told HuffPost.

Carrasquilla was asked to retire in March after an emergency school board meeting, according to the Post. Though she was not told the reason for the decision, she believes it was related to an art lesson taught to sixth-grade students about the marble statue, which depicts David naked.

"It is with a sad heart that my time as principal of Tallahassee Classical School has come to an end," she said in a letter to the school board, according to the Post.

Carrasquilla told HuffPost that she did not expect the reaction she received from the school board and that a letter was supposed to be delivered to parents before the session. However, due to "miscommunications," the message was not delivered.

School board chair Barney Bishop acknowledged to the Post and CBS station WCTV that Carrasquilla was given an ultimatum to quit or be fired following concerns about the sculpture, while he stated that the decision was made solely on communication.

"She wasn't fired because of the artistic nude photos." "We show it to our students every year," Bishop told Post. "The problem with this particular issue was a lack of follow-through on the process." According to him, "parental rights trump everything else."

Carrasquilla assured the board in a letter that she had "always desired good for Tallahassee Classical School" and was not "promoting myself or a political agenda," according to the Post.