Art teacher fired after showing nudes from classical paintings to children
According to reports, he removed the pictures when they made students feel uncomfortable
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Utah art teacher was fired amid complaints that images of classical paintings containing nudity were passed out in a classroom and seen by sixth-graders, a newspaper reported.
Mateo Rueda said he wasn't aware that a set of educational postcards from the elementary school library contained a few works depicting nudity when he handed them out during a lesson, the Herald Journal newspaper said on Thursday.
He removed the cards when they made students uncomfortable, the paper reported.
"This is not material at all that I would use. I had no idea," Rueda said.
He said he has requested a hearing and plans to appeal his termination to clear his reputation.
A few days after the lesson on 4 December, police went to Lincoln Elementary School in Hyrum, about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, to investigate a complaint that Rudea was showing pornography to students.
Cache County deputies found Principal Jeni Buist shredding postcards — at the request of the school district — that contained nudity, said Sheriff Chad Jensen.
Deputies showed some of the images to prosecutors, who decided they were not pornography, Jenson said.
The Cache County School District declined to comment, saying it's a personnel matter.
The two images seen by students were the Impressionist-era portrait "Iris Tree" by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani and the Rococo-style partial nude "Odalisque" by 18th-century artist Francois Boucher, the teacher said.
Parent Venessa Rose Pixton said she's upset because Rueda's handling of the situation belittled students, including her 11-year-old son.
"He said Mr Mateo even told the class 'There's nothing wrong with female nipples. You guys need to grow up and be mature about this,'" Pixton said.
Rueda denied making that statement and said he simply explained the human body is often portrayed in art displayed in museums.
Some parents are supporting Rueda.
Kamee Jensen wrote a letter to the Herald Journal defending him and said her daughter wasn't offended by the pictures.
"She was just very upset that her teacher was in trouble," Jensen said.
AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments