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Back in September of 2005, Martha Cothren,a social studies
school teacher at Robinson High
School in Little Rock,Arkansas,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 moved 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, used, they asked, 'Ms. Cothren, where
are 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.'
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 sat 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 uniform, walked into that classroom, each
one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they walked over and stood 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.'
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