NOW SHE IS A TEACHER!!!
In September of 2005, on the first
day of school, Martha Cothren, a History 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
in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they
discovered that there were no desks.
'Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you 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. Kids called their parents to
tell them what was happening and by early afternoon television news
crews had started gathering at the school 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 desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout
the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or 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 uniform, 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. They
went halfway around the world, giving up their education and
interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom
you have. 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. And this
teacher was awarded the Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year
for the State of Arkansas in 2006. She is the daughter of a WWII POW.
Do you think this email is worth passing along so others won't
forget either, that the freedoms we have in this great country were
earned by our U.S. Veterans? ................... I did.
Let us always remember the men and women of our military and the rights they have won for us. Now SHARE
Dreams & Desires
6 months ago
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