Macklemore in South Lyon: What One Could Do
If you don’t like the fact that a teacher was suspended for playing the Macklemore song “Same Love” in the classroom, and you live in South Lyon, then what you could do is inspire change in your school’s curriculum.
Organize a panel of students, parents, and teachers that meet after school to draft up a unit of curriculum (short stories, one-act plays, poems, even songs), one that supports these themes of equality, addresses homosexuality respectfully, and meets the state benchmarks and standards for English or Social Studies (or even drama).
One could even add it to existing curriculum as secondary materials: Maybe To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, the Outsiders, etc. Present it to the school board. Get it approved. If they vote it down, get them to stand on the record and explain why. Then, redraft and present it again.
An administrator won’t be able to say, “No one is going to have a comment for you. We don’t go on camera here in South Lyon” if it’s about the curriculum. Public school curriculum is open to the public.
One day, a verse of Macklemore’s song could be a text for a writing prompt in an approved curriculum. Right now, it’s a news headline stirring up discussion. That’s the power of art.
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