Thursday, May 31, 2007

Belated Memorial Day

How did you earn your seat in the classroom?

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher did something not to be forgotten.

On the first day of school, with permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the classroom.

The kids came into first period, they walked in, there were no desks. They obviously looked around and said, "Ms. Cothren, where's our desk?" And she said, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn them."

They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."

"No," she said."Maybe it's our behavior.""No, it's not even your behavior."

So they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the classroom. Second period, same thing, then third period. By early afternoon television news crews had gathered in Ms. Cothren's class to find out about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of the classroom.

The last period of the day, Martha Cothren gathered her class. They were at this time sitting on the floor around the sides of the room. And she says,Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the desks that sit in this classroom ordinarily."

She said, "Now I'm going to tell you."

Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it, and as she did 27 U.S. veterans, wearing their uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows, and then they stood along the wall. And by the time they had finished placing those desks, those kids for the first time I think perhaps in their lives understood how they earned those desks.

Martha said, "You don't have to earn those desks. These guys did it for you.They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to sit here responsibly to learn, to be good students and good citizens, because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don't ever forget it."

I think sometimes we forget that the freedoms that we have are because of ordinary people who did extraordinary things, who loved this country more than life itself, and who not only earned a school desk for a kid at the Robinson High School in Little Rock, but who earned a seat for you and me to enjoy this great land we call home, this wonderful nation that we better love enough to protect and preserve with the kind of conservative, solid values and principles that made us a great nation.

"We live in the Land of the Free because of the brave"

Update 6/02/07
I Snoped this little story and it's true according to Snopes

Click here!

11 comments:

Hope said...

Excellent post!

Uncivil said...

Thanks Hope

I borrowed it from my ex wife's blog!LOL! With her blessing of course.
I was going to say it's "one of the few things we agreed on", but that would be so silly. We agreed on much more than I give credit for.LOL!

I guess I'm one of the few ex-husbands that would trust his ex-wife with his life? And she still has a life insurance policy on me?

Does that make me brave?LOL!!!!!!

Glamourpuss said...

You Americans are all so patriotic. If I pulled that stunt in the classroom, the kids would tell me to fuck off.

Puss

Steph said...

What a great post. That teacher deserves some kind of award.

Uncivil said...

Puss
That's why I could never be a teacher. I'd be tempted to bitch slap the little tards,and tell them to get their daddy so I can bitch slap him for not raising them any better. Just kidding!!!!

No, really I'd have the strongest class in school. Cause I would make the whole class do push-ups everytime one single student stepped out of line or made a disrespectful comment.
Then maybe the rest of the class would jump the worst little bastard out on the playground, and beat the shit out of him for me! te he he!

Did I mention I love kids? Just kidding!LOL

Steph

All teachers deserve some kind of award.I don't know how they do it? The only a-ward they would give me would be a prison ward!

Heidi said...

Thats so deep for someone so uncivil. ;)

Great post.

Uncivil said...

CK
I have my weak moments! Most of the time I'm shallow as a dried up mud puddle!

Anonymous said...

Great story. What year did this happen?

Uncivil said...

Thanks for stopping by Bavarian

This happened in September of 2005.
check out the update I did at the bottom of the post. It's pretty much true....I checked it out on the Snopes urban legend site!

kim said...

*** Sigh *** Okay, I got a bit sentimental after reading about Ms. Cothren's unusual yet Snopes-certified story. Yeah, you guys in the "Land of the Free" oughtta be really really grateful that the opportunities over there are, in comparison to those in other 'lands', seemingly endless.

It was the first day of classes here in the Philippines last Monday, and statistically speaking, almost 40% of our children's population are not even in school, as they, normally, ought to be. Most of them cannot afford it - not even a public school education, because they live in such remote areas that TRANSPORTING themselves to the public schools nearest them would cost them money that they do not have in the first darned place. *** Sigh *** Am I making sense?

Uncivil said...

Kim

It's so strange, I m a spoiled American brat like most everyone else I grew up with.
We take our education system for granted. Our parents could have got in trouble with social services for not sending us to some kind of school.

While your children in the Philippines are just hoping for the chance to get to school and get educated.

Those who have the least are the most grateful.