05/27/2024
Martha Cothren is a social studies teacher at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the first day of school in September of 2005, Ms. Cothren did something to be remembered. With permission from the principal and school superintendent, she removed all the desks in her classroom.
When the first-period kids entered the room, they were shocked to find no desks.
"Ms. Cothren, where's 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 answered, "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 a television news crew gathered to report about this crazy school teacher who'd taken all the desks out of her room. The day's final period arrived and, as puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom, Martha Cothren said, "Throughout the day, no one's 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'm going to tell you."
Martha Cothren went over and opened her classroom door.
Twenty-seven Veterans, all in uniform, walked into that classroom -- each carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the desks in rows, then walked over and stood against the wall. By the time the last soldier placed the final desk, those kids started to understand -- perhaps for the first time in their lives -- just how the right to sit at their 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."
Happy Memorial Day! God Bless our military. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 🇺🇸
