Desks

Subject: Desks Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:25 pm

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 permission of the
school superintendent, the principal and the building
supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the
classroom.

The kids came into first period, they walked in, there
were no desks.

They obviously looked around and said, "Ms. Cothren,
where's our desk?"

And she said, "You can't have a desk until you tell me
how you earn them."

They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."

"No," she said.

"Maybe it's our behavior."

And she told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."

And so they came and went in the first period, still
no desks in the classroom.

Second period, same thing.

Third period.

By early afternoon television news crews had gathered
in Ms. Cothren's class to find out about this crazy
teacher who had taken all the desks out of the
classroom.

The last period of the day, Martha Cothren gathered
her class.

They were at this time sitting on the floor around the
sides of the room.

And she says, "Throughout the day no one has really
understood how you earn the desks that sit in this
classroom ordinarily."

She said, "Now I'm going to tell you."

Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom
and opened it, and as she did 27 U.S. veterans,
wearing their uniforms, walked into that classroom,
each one carrying a school desk.

And they placed those school desks in rows, and then
they stood along the wall.

And by the time they had finished placing those desks,
those kids for the first time I think perhaps in their
lives understood how they earned those desks.

Martha said, "You don't have to earn those desks.
These guys did it for you.

They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to
sit here responsibly to learn, to be good students and
good citizens.

They paid a price for you to have that desk.

Don't you ever forget it!"
Desks 36_16_50

CANCER FREE!!! April 9, 1998-April 9, 2025-I AM A SURVIVOR!!!

Subject: Re: Desks Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:29 pm

I've seen this one before. It's great!

Guest

Very good indeed. Applause

Subject: Re: Desks Tue Apr 17, 2007 6:46 pm

Aww I liked that.