Teacher Who Played Song About Gay Marriage In Class ResignsTeacher Who Played Song About Gay Marriage In Class Resigns

2/7/13 - A local middle school teacher who was suspended without pay after playing a song supporting gay marriage during class has resigned. Susan Johnson informed administrators of her decision in a brief e-mail stating she was resigning her position at Centennial Middle School effective January 8th. The Board of Education formally accepted her resignation at it's January 21st meeting. Johnson allowed a video clip of the song "Same Love", which supports same-sex marriage, to be played during her eighth-grade performing arts class at the request of a student. She agreed after asking him if it contained any violent content or profanity, which he said it did not. Johnson said the song’s message of diversity was something she felt was valuable to her class. But one of those students disagreed and complained to school officials, who then placed her on suspension for not seeking permission to play the song, which they cited for controversial content, including homosexuality, religion and politics. The South Lyon Herald reports that officials defended the administrative actions taken and said the district promotes a culture of diversity and tolerance but there is always more that can be done. Following the incident involving Johnson, the district has begun work to form a diversity committee and will also be bringing in speakers to train staff before creating a plan of action. Photo Credit Fox 2. (JM)