The Classroom...... A lesson that should be taught in all 

schools . . and colleges

    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 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. '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.

  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.'

By the way, this is a true story. Please consider passing this along so others won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans.  HUSTUSA