Art teacher in hot water over topless photos
blackredyellow
Posts: 5,889
I don't agree with this school district at all...
Art teacher in hot water over topless photos
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Until they found the topless photos, Austin High School officials considered Tamara Hoover an excellent art teacher with a knack for helping students find their creativity.
Now, she's fighting for her job.
The photos, which were posted on Flickr.com by her partner, depict Hoover in the shower, lifting weights, getting dressed, in bed and doing other routine activities.
Hoover said Friday the photos are art and makes no apologies.
"I'm an artist and I'm going to participate in the arts," Hoover said. "If that's not something they want me to do then I want to be told that. I don't feel as if I was doing anything that was beyond expectations."
The school district said the photos were inappropriate and violate the "higher moral standard" expected of public school teachers. As she was escorted out of class last month she was told that she's become an ineffective teacher.
The district wants to revoke her teaching certification, which would keep her out of Texas classrooms permanently. Hoover will appeal the ruling and is prepared to take the case to court, she said.
Hoover's abrupt dismissal highlights a new concern for employees: Your boss has Internet access, too.
"People don't realize when they put their entire diary out there, they're giving very private information to the public," said Kate Brooks, director of career services for liberal arts students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The photos came to light last month as a result of a feud over ceramics equipment with another art teacher, according to sworn affidavits. Students who had seen the pictures showed the teacher, who then notified school officials.
Austen Clements, one of Hoover's students, noted that many artists have nude pictures, including Georgia O'Keeffe.
"If Georgia O'Keeffe wanted to teach at Austin High, I don't think they'd say, 'No, you have nude pictures online,"' Clements said.
The school was attended by President Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/16/naked.teacher.ap/index.html
pics can be found here
http://savemanny.blogspot.com/2006/06/hs-teacher-ms-hoovers-artistic-nudes.html
Art teacher in hot water over topless photos
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Until they found the topless photos, Austin High School officials considered Tamara Hoover an excellent art teacher with a knack for helping students find their creativity.
Now, she's fighting for her job.
The photos, which were posted on Flickr.com by her partner, depict Hoover in the shower, lifting weights, getting dressed, in bed and doing other routine activities.
Hoover said Friday the photos are art and makes no apologies.
"I'm an artist and I'm going to participate in the arts," Hoover said. "If that's not something they want me to do then I want to be told that. I don't feel as if I was doing anything that was beyond expectations."
The school district said the photos were inappropriate and violate the "higher moral standard" expected of public school teachers. As she was escorted out of class last month she was told that she's become an ineffective teacher.
The district wants to revoke her teaching certification, which would keep her out of Texas classrooms permanently. Hoover will appeal the ruling and is prepared to take the case to court, she said.
Hoover's abrupt dismissal highlights a new concern for employees: Your boss has Internet access, too.
"People don't realize when they put their entire diary out there, they're giving very private information to the public," said Kate Brooks, director of career services for liberal arts students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The photos came to light last month as a result of a feud over ceramics equipment with another art teacher, according to sworn affidavits. Students who had seen the pictures showed the teacher, who then notified school officials.
Austen Clements, one of Hoover's students, noted that many artists have nude pictures, including Georgia O'Keeffe.
"If Georgia O'Keeffe wanted to teach at Austin High, I don't think they'd say, 'No, you have nude pictures online,"' Clements said.
The school was attended by President Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/16/naked.teacher.ap/index.html
pics can be found here
http://savemanny.blogspot.com/2006/06/hs-teacher-ms-hoovers-artistic-nudes.html
My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
this really is a no-brainer to me.
It also makes me wonder why I didn't have teachers like this.
for the least they could possibly do
naděje umírá poslední
Is it me or is this what's considered 'art' in Texas?
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
I thought she didn't put them on the internet but her friend, the artist that made these pictures, did?
naděje umírá poslední
Age has nothing to do with it or don't you take kids to antiquity museums? Plenty of naked statues there...
Maybe if Americans weren't so uptight ........with a huge stick up their collective butts, they would teach their children that the naked human body is not an evil, disgusting thing; but a natural, beautiful part of nature's work- then no one would be " dramatized" by nudity.
How in the world this ever made it to CNN, is beyond my comprehension. It is a non-issue, in my opinion.
I'm more offended and disgusted by teachers who preach, spread or routinely refer to the word of "their" god and religion. Force-feeding one's religion (god) down innocent children's throats, is so very manipulative and coniving. By far, that has a much more profound negative impact, than nudity ever could.
This shows how truely fucked up Americans are regarding nudity.
Bombared the TV and landscape with images and suggestions that an all out invasion and war (bombing, killing, murder) is indeed "Patriotic" and "Justified". God Bless!
But nudity is going to destroy the very moral fabric of our society:rolleyes:
What a bunch a fuckin' idiots.
Where's a Janet Jackson exposed nipple, when you need one the most!
but i was drawing nudes in grade 10 at my high school art class ... wtf??
I couldn't have said it better myself.
We may look at nudity differently than you.. it doesn't make us stupid. And though I doubt many people see anything vile or wrong in these pictures - she is still a school teacher. There is money in porn in our country - and even child porn. The message a teacher sends to her students is important. It is worth a look to see if the message is too complex for the students.
A young impressionable student may find this to be the deciding factor as she was weighing posing nude for money.
I am not sure if I agree with a dismissal.. but if I were running a school, I'd ask that my teachers don't pose nude - or work somewhere else.
America may be stupid about nudity.. but this is our society, and the children influenced by this teacher have to live in it whether they like it or not.
You're a parent, you know this.
Our children copy, imitate and mirror our behavior, attitudes and perceptions at a very early age (eventually they grow up and develope their own opinions). If one reacts negatively to something or preaches disgust, fear and immorality about specific issues and events-then our children will be traumatized and upset when these specific issues or events arise.
Just like with Janet Jackson. Not one kid saw a damn thing or even realized what had happened. It happened so fast. Only after the idot adults over-dramatized, over-reacted, slowed down the video, zoomed in on the breast and used one million pointers to identify the " exposed breast/nipple" on the screen, did any kid realize what had happened and develope an opinion on it.
If as a parent you teach kids the human body is evil, naughty, disgusting, immoral or perverse; then that's what they will believe and react that way.
I don't think anyone is saying its evil. Just perhaps inappropriate for published photos for a school teacher. If that was my daughter, I'd be proud. As a teacher that teaches minors... I don't like it. I am making an assumption that this is a high school or below teacher - if its college.. I take it all back..
the other foot in the gutter
sweet smell that they adore
I think I'd rather smother
-The Replacements-
now, as a former art teacher myself, i can tell you in NO way would i have a job if i did the same...definitely a clause in my contract that covered this and called it off limits. is that right? i don't know. obviously, i am ALL for free artistic expression, but when you become a teacher, particularly for HS and younger......it's not even a question of nudity being 'bad'...but moreso to what degree your students look upon you, etc. perhaps, again, if our culture wasn't as prudish about nudity as it is, it would not hold the same weight...but given where we are today, it's a completely different scenario.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
I second that.
the other foot in the gutter
sweet smell that they adore
I think I'd rather smother
-The Replacements-
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
they have been taken offline, it says it at the first page in the link.
it's already been said here, if she's teaching high school or lower, she should have known better. and if it's "just art", why were the pics taken down? stand behind your beliefs. i don't think she should be fired, she wasn't the one that posted the pictures online. but she should at least be suspended or something to that degree.
~Michael Bolton
Christ, I'm talking about nakie pics!!!
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
they're in there! or they were.
you just have to look thru em all. sheesh.
edit - just saw moe's post. you're too late, they're gone.
well, even if they are not 'her art'...as a teacher, even just posing and allowing pics as such to be published can be a violation of your contract. as i said, i don't know what her particular contract states...but bottomline, whether one thinks it prudish or not, if she signed her contract, that's an agreement to said terms. if you don't like the terms, don't sign the contract. you can't say you will follow a set of obligations, renig, and then expect no repercussions...no matter what actions she did to violate her contract.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
- Jimi Hendrix
"I thought I'd do something nice for the band... I'll hang myself."
- Jason Newsted, Metallica
And it's a college.. it's not like she's teaching a bunch of first graders here, these kids are grown up, and at the very least, legally adults.
Kind of weird, but nothing wrong with it.
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c
Whatever.
I visited the Louve in Paris a few months ago. There were school children walking all around that place, which is filled with nude statues and paintings. Does that mean that there will be an increase in the French porn industry???
Come on.
7-6-2006 Las Vegas. 7-20-2006 Portland. 7-22-2006 Gorge. 9-21-2009 Seattle. 9-22-2009 Seattle. 9-26-2009 Ridgefield. 9-25-2011 Vancouver.
11-29-2013 Portland. 10-16-2014 Detroit. 8-8-2018 Seattle. 8-10-2018 Seattle. 8-13-2018 Missoula. 5-10-2024 Portland. 5-30-2024 Seattle.
everyone is focusing on the wrong part of the issue. it does not matter what the action is - if she violated her contract, they have the right to terminate, or whatever appropriate action is outlined. does no one believe in contracts? what's their purpose if one may violate at will?
btw - i believe she taught in a HS.
and, also....school children brought on a fieldtrip to a museum must have parental consent, thus the parents acknowledge what their children may see and agree. i don't even think it's the nudity per se that is the issue...but the nudity that is of the teacher, and it was more than mere breasts...not that it makes a difference, there were a few very clear/explicit photos of full frontal nudity. i think at worst, the worry is the teacher/student relationship, the respect and seriousness, etc.
however, NONE of this even matters, at all. the ONLY thing that matters is, what is outlined in her contract, that she agreed to, and if in fact she has violated said agreement.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
sorry i misread this : " said Kate Brooks, director of career services for liberal arts students at the University of Texas at Austin."
I can understand being upset for a highschool teacher doing that.
i still don't really see anything really wrong with it, but they're minors and i doubt she even got parental consent for it.
I wouldn't have a problem with it per se (although it DEFINETLY depends on the situation), but that desicion isn't for her to make, it's for the parents to make.
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"