Monday, March 17, 2008

For The Educators in the Fam... (Norm especially)

Here is an inspirational story to push you through the last few months of this school year:
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, AK, 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 out of her classroom. When the first period
kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

Looking around, confused, they asked, 'Ms. Cothren, where's 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.'
'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.

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 found seats 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 uniforms, 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. 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.'

8 comments:

lena jo said...

My eyes welled up with tears as I read the story. thanks for the reminder Ben that "freedom isn't free". ( I know all my sons at this point are thinking "corny".

Bill said...

This article is sooo right. Thank you for finding it and publishing it. I also want to add for all you teachers to not forget that you are affecting our future with these young minds. Even if you change one student to where they begin to see their future and what their destiny is, it is worth it. I honor the teachers in the Gaines-Lampi blog.

c-unitsdaddy said...

Solid, Benny.

But, I'm surprised Sarah hasn't chimed in with a "NOT SO FAST" note after cyber investigating it's truth on urbanlegends.com............



Does this story stack up with when Normy did the unthinkable and conveyed a message through metaphor and took out the ole' musket on Maltby's lawn and laid a civil war demo infront of his 8th graders while reciting the Gettysburg Address?

steve lampi said...

Sermon analogy. Gee Yah!!!

Steve

steve lampi said...

Sermon analogy. Gee Yah!!!

Steve

sarahjane said...

Surprise, surprise, Jeff. I'd already checked it. It's valid.

Jake said...

Thank you Brent Puckett!

debbie said...

I enjoyed the story. I hope to share it with my students. Our Dads and grandfathers were part of the Greatest Generation. They fought to allow each of us the right to learn and live freely. Norm