Chapter 566

A lesson that should be taught in all schools and colleges...

Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothern, a social study schoolteacher at Bobcaygeon (north of Peterborough, Ontario) public school, 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 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 out 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 desk-less 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 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) War 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 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 War Veterans.

Lest we Forget – wear a Poppy to show your respect on Remembrance Day (on the left side of your shirt above your heart – never on your hat or anywhere else – show respect!)