TEACHERS STOOD UP FOR STUDENTS, INSPIRED THEM TO KEEP LEARNING

I am a Michigan resident and also a senior at American University in
Washington D.C., a school I was accepted into largely because of my
strong record for academics and pursuit of social justice at Gull Lake
High School.

It is vital that members of this community understand how one of the
teachers at Gull Lake contributed to my success. His name is Brett
Johnson and he and his wife were recently convicted on criminal drug
charges after they were found to be growing marijuana in their home.
While I am not going to debate the laws on drug use and production at
this time, I need to attest to the strength of Brett Johnson's
character and his talent as a teacher.

The Gull Lake High School that my younger sister attends today is
quite different from the one I left when I graduated in 2004. The 2004
high school was not so friendly a place. Not only did the students and
faculty face facility restraints because of the building's
increasingly dilapidated condition, they also faced discrimination and
hate.

Like high schools portrayed in many a teen movie today, the student
body was rife with cliques and barriers. One of these barriers was a
deeply entrenched and widely unaddressed homophobia growing like a
parasite in the hearts and minds of a huge number of students.
Students who were gay, or who others presumed to be gay, were called
names, pushed into lockers, threatened with or, in some cases, faced
violence.

These students had trouble discussing the problem and had an even
harder time having it addressed by authority figures.

Brett and Keri Johnson set a rare example by standing up for these
students and by being the faculty supervisors for the Gay-Straight
Alliance, a group whose goal was to promote diversity, respect and
acceptance among the student body.

The Johnsons helped the students create a safe space in which they
could raise awareness of these issues and peacefully protest the
homophobia they experienced. The Johnsons did their best to help
foster confidence and creativity in each of their students.

While I never had the opportunity to have Keri Johnson as a teacher,
my experiences with Brett Johnson in the classroom are numerous. I am
now a senior in college, graduating in May to pursue a career in
writing and entertainment for social change. I credit Brett Johnson
with my passion for writing and my understanding of how to address
controversial issues with my pen.

I had him first for creative writing. We had to write poems and short
stories and then share them with each other. In fact, Mr. Johnson
would sometimes read a student's work aloud. As a student, nervous
about having your words exposed to the critical ears of your peers, it
was always comforting to have Mr. Johnson up there, reading your work
as it was meant to be read -- bringing life to the lines you had
slaved over.

As my British Literature teacher, Mr. Johnson brought life and passion
to works hundreds of years old.

After running out of courses to take with Mr. Johnson, I created my
own -- writing for social change. Mr. Johnson taught me a valuable
lesson -- on top of a soap box is never a good place to stand when
you're trying to change the world. During this independent course, my
writing matured immensely.

If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that Brett Johnson is a good
person. He has a passion for literature, which he seeks and succeeds
in conveying to his students.

I hope the Michigan Department of Education does not choose, in the
case of Brett and Keri Johnson, to hinder Michigan students by
depriving them of such wonderful educational and developmental
experiences. Please do your part by writing letters to the Michigan
Department of Education to support the Johnsons and allow them to keep
their teaching certifications.

Rachel Hitow, of Richland, is a senior at American University in
Washington, D.C.