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 could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever
forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story.
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 could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever
forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story.
