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Butt I Digress
Dec. 15th, 2006 09:29 amThis morning while I was in the kitchen I heard the tail end of the story of Stephen Murmer who is an art teacher in Virginia. He is currently suspended for his work as an artist which he had very carefully tried to keep separate from his job as a school teacher. His alter ego is Stan Murmer the "butt-print" artist. Apparently he uses his backside to create paintings that sell for a bit of money. I did a little searching of the internet and found a couple of his pieces. In his own words he creates Anthropometric Monotypes using the human body as a stamp. He talks about how he started playing with this on his AOL page and it was a bit of fun for a class assignment back in the late 1990's that turned into an art form. I find nothing offensive about his paintings and if I didn't know the source of the stamp I wouldn't even thought of it by just looking at them. Mr. Murmer has asked the ACLU for help with his suspension. According to a statement from the school board, they have no comment but are trying to get to the bottom of this situation.
I am really hoping that all this publicity makes the school board take a serious look at what they are doing. Here is a teacher who is well liked by his student who has made it a point to keep his personal art separate from his job. He has done nothing untoward in his professional life as a teacher. He has not had his students try his form of art. According to the AP article that is making the rounds they say, " "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct. Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models." Now I checked around a bit on Google and could not find such a legal citation for this. So going on that theory then a teacher's personal life is subject to regulation by the school board which to me is just wrong. To follow this to it's conclusion, can the school board insist that an overweight teacher go on a diet since they serve as a role model? Does this mean that teachers can't drink or smoke at home because it sets a bad example? To follow it further does this mean that parents can't drink or smoke at home because it is a bad example as a role model? The mind boggles.
This is a freedom of speech issue that needs to be resolved swiftly in favor of the teacher and someone needs to hit the school board with either a copy of the Bill of Rights or a large Clue-by-four.
I am grateful that our freedom of speech exists.
I am really hoping that all this publicity makes the school board take a serious look at what they are doing. Here is a teacher who is well liked by his student who has made it a point to keep his personal art separate from his job. He has done nothing untoward in his professional life as a teacher. He has not had his students try his form of art. According to the AP article that is making the rounds they say, " "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct. Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models." Now I checked around a bit on Google and could not find such a legal citation for this. So going on that theory then a teacher's personal life is subject to regulation by the school board which to me is just wrong. To follow this to it's conclusion, can the school board insist that an overweight teacher go on a diet since they serve as a role model? Does this mean that teachers can't drink or smoke at home because it sets a bad example? To follow it further does this mean that parents can't drink or smoke at home because it is a bad example as a role model? The mind boggles.
This is a freedom of speech issue that needs to be resolved swiftly in favor of the teacher and someone needs to hit the school board with either a copy of the Bill of Rights or a large Clue-by-four.
I am grateful that our freedom of speech exists.
