Teacher imparts a lesson in the value of freedom. A timeless Lesson.

[Martin103]

A Odd First Day OfSchool.....


How about this for a history lesson?


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 tobe forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the schoolsuperintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all ofthe desks in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room theydiscovered 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 earnthe 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 yourbehavior.



And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, thirdperiod. Still no desks in the classroom. Kids called their parents to tell themwhat was happening and by early afternoon television news crews had startedgathering at the school to report about this crazy teacher who had taken allthe desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students foundseats on the floor of the desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, 'Throughoutthe day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earnthe right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. NowI am going to tell you.

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of herclassroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform,walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets beganplacing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and standalongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk inplace those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in theirlives, 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 wenthalfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting theircareers and families so you could have the freedom you have. Now, it's up toyou to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, tobe good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to getan education. Don't ever forget it.
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awardedVeterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 2006.She is the daughter of a WWII POW.