Imagine, if you will, that you are back in high school and, on the first day of school, you walk into your social studies class and find that there are no desks. The teacher tells you and your classmates that, until you can answer her question, the classroom will remain empty of desks. By the last period of the day the whole school is abuzz, news crews have arrived to report on the story, and still nobody has figured out the answer to the teacher’s question which was “How do the students earn their desks?”

A friend of mine sent me the below story, which I later verified as true. It is reprinted below in its entirety and I only hope other teachers will convey the same lesson to their students — even if less spectacular means are employed.

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies schoolteacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, 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, and 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.”

And she told them, “No, it’s not even your behavior.”

And so they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the classroom. Second period, same thing, 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.”

How true. It is not the president that wields executive authority, the Congress that passes the laws, or the courts that interpret the laws that give us our freedoms. They are of course necessary pieces of the fabric that makes up our nation. But whether it is the privilege to sit in a classroom or speak out at a political rally, the ones who truly gave us that freedom are the ones that take up arms and fight for the principles of liberty. Without their initial sacrifice, our political leaders could not set up the infrastructure for schools, roads, or anything else we enjoy today.

Many school children are not taught this lesson as evidenced by the recent anti-military actions of San Francisco. But even where school boards do not actively work against the good name of our soldiers there is often a lack of appreciation on many an educator’s part that leads to equally apathetic students. They take for granted the freedoms they enjoy not because they are necessarily ungrateful but because they have not been taught what so many others sacrificed so they can grow up to go however far their talent will take them.

Our shared heritage includes a long line of heroes. That line began with the first colonists who defended their settlements on through George Washington and all the men who faithfully served under his command in the Revolution. It extends throughout all the 231 years since right up to General Petraeus and all our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world that serve the cause of freedom and stand ready to defend our country.

As I close this week’s column I am obviously reminded that my free speech rights protect every word in it. Rights I would not have if soldiers had not fought for them. As you read it in the newspaper or online remember that you have the freedom to purchase whichever news publication you wish or access whatever website you choose.

And when the coming Monday — Memorial Day — arrives, take a moment out of your day to thank God for all the blessings of liberty we enjoy, to honor the memory of all our fallen heroes, and to remember those who once served and currently serve our great country.

Columnist’s note: Concerning the upcoming Festival of Flags that honors our local veterans, I would like to thank the leaders of the City of Ringgold, the volunteers who prepare and raise the flags, and any others whose efforts make this commemoration possible. Above all, I wish to express my gratitude to my grandfather, James Calvin (JC) Nichols, and all the other locals who served. His flag will stand with many others this coming Memorial Day. A veteran of World War II, he served in Europe and passed away in 1993. This is the first Festival of Flags in which one of the many Old Glorys that line our streets will fly in his honor.

Jeff O’Bryant is an amateur historian and holds two degrees, a bachelor’s in education and a bachelor’s with honors in history. He can be contacted at jeffobryant@catt.com. or through his blog, rightnewsandviews.com.

CLICK ON THESE LINKS

---

FEEDBACK: Send a

letter to the editor

SUBSCRIBE: Get the

Walker County Messenger each Wednesday and Friday

GO

BACK: Return to our homepage