Desks
Back in September of 2005, on the first day of
school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at
Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not
to be forgotten.
On the first day of school, with the permission
of the school superintendent, the principal and the building
supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her
classroom. When the first period kids entered the
room they discovered that there were no desks.
Looking around, confused, they asked, "Ms. Cothren,
Where're our
desks?" She replied, "You can't have a desk until you
tell me what you
have done to earn the right to sit at a desk." They
thought, "Well,
maybe it's our grades." "No," she said. "Maybe it's our
Behavior."
She told them,
"No, it's not even your behavior."
And so, they came and went, the first period,
second period, third period. Still no desks in the
classroom. By
early afternoon television news crews had started
gathering in
Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy
teacher who had taken
all the desks out of her room. The final period of the
day came and as
the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the
deskless classroom.
Martha Cothren said, "Throughout the day no one has
Been able
to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the
right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this
Classroom. Now I am going to tell you."
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the
door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S.
Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom,
each one
carrying a school desk.The Vets began placing the
school desks in rows,
and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall.
By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in
place those kids
started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their
lives, just how the
right to sit at those desks had been earned. Martha said,
"You didn't earn
the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for
you They placed the
desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them, It
is your responsibility
to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens.
They paid the price so that
You coul d have the freedom to get an education. Don't
ever forget it."
By the way, this is a true story....
If you can read this,
Thank a teacher .
If you read it in English ,
Thank a soldier
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