|
|
The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
necessarily
represent the views of County News Online
|
 |
Now she is a
teacher!!!
Attributed to June Gross
Sent from a CNO reader
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.
Let us always remember the men and women of our military and the rights
they have won for us.
|
|
|
|
