Earning a Desk

[DocV 0]

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."

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."

[jrance@iacwds.com 716]

An e-mail that I really enjoyed! So true.

[MrTuffPaws 2]

This is the largest leap of logic that I have seen in a while. You have desks because Vets earned them for you? No, you have desks because your parents, the vets, the school instructor, and everyone else paid taxes to the government that funded the school to buy them.

 

Last time I checked my history, there was no military campaign to secure desk resources. Even if you stretch and think desk = freedom, it is arguable that the only war fought in recent times where are freedoms were under the gun was WWII, so I hope at least some WWII vets were there.

 

I hope no one tells the instructor that they had school desks in the USSR and Nazi Germany too. Hell, come to think of it, we could have fought the whole cold war not over a "bomber gap" but a "school desk gap" and none of us would be the wiser of it.

Edited April 26, 2007 by MrTuffPaws

[DocV 0]

This is the largest leap of logic that I have seen in a while. You have desks because Vets earned them for you? No, you have desks because your parents, the vets, the school instructor, and everyone else paid taxes to the government that funded the school to buy them.

 

Last time I checked my history, there was no military campaign to secure desk resources. Even if you stretch and think desk = freedom, it is arguable that the only war fought in recent times where are freedoms were under the gun was WWII, so I hope at least some WWII vets were there.

 

I hope no one tells the instructor that they had school desks in the USSR and Nazi Germany too. Hell, come to think of it, we could have fought the whole cold war not over a "bomber gap" but a "school desk gap" and none of us would be the wiser of it.

 

Are you kidding or serious? I am going to assume the latter...

 

Wow, you missed it completely. Yes, they had desks in Nazi Germany. Remember the Hitler Youth? I bet they sat at those desks. In Russia it was the Young Pioneers. The desks were an anology representing education and intellectual freedom. The point is that the children get to go to school in a society that (should) value the free exchange of ideas. A place where you can express your opinion without fear of retribution. Not the type of Indoctrination Camp schools there were in Nazi Germany or Russia. Another point is that nothing is free. Yes, parents , grandparents, aunts, uncles, Weird Cousin Sal all paid property tax for the schools, but the right to own land free of encumberance or unlawful tax, free from unreasonable search and seizure was paid for in blood.

 

Our freedoms are under attack everyday. Radical Jihadists would love to see our way of life go down the tubes. There is already a movement afoot to set up parallel Sharia (sp) courts to adjudicate offenses caused by or perpetrated against Muslims.

 

Is our American society perfect? Not by a long shot. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. The amount of freedoms, access to resources, and wealth we enjoy are second to none.

 

DocV

[MrTuffPaws 2]

This is the largest leap of logic that I have seen in a while. You have desks because Vets earned them for you? No, you have desks because your parents, the vets, the school instructor, and everyone else paid taxes to the government that funded the school to buy them.

 

Last time I checked my history, there was no military campaign to secure desk resources. Even if you stretch and think desk = freedom, it is arguable that the only war fought in recent times where are freedoms were under the gun was WWII, so I hope at least some WWII vets were there.

 

I hope no one tells the instructor that they had school desks in the USSR and Nazi Germany too. Hell, come to think of it, we could have fought the whole cold war not over a "bomber gap" but a "school desk gap" and none of us would be the wiser of it.

 

Are you kidding or serious? I am going to assume the latter...

 

Wow, you missed it completely. Yes, they had desks in Nazi Germany. Remember the Hitler Youth? I bet they sat at those desks. In Russia it was the Young Pioneers. The desks were an anology representing education and intellectual freedom. The point is that the children get to go to school in a society that (should) value the free exchange of ideas. A place where you can express your opinion without fear of retribution. Not the type of Indoctrination Camp schools there were in Nazi Germany or Russia. Another point is that nothing is free. Yes, parents , grandparents, aunts, uncles, Weird Cousin Sal all paid property tax for the schools, but the right to own land free of encumberance or unlawful tax, free from unreasonable search and seizure was paid for in blood.

 

Our freedoms are under attack everyday. Radical Jihadists would love to see our way of life go down the tubes. There is already a movement afoot to set up parallel Sharia (sp) courts to adjudicate offenses caused by or perpetrated against Muslims.

 

Is our American society perfect? Not by a long shot. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. The amount of freedoms, access to resources, and wealth we enjoy are second to none.

 

DocV

 

 

I understand the message that she was trying to convey, but she completely blew the metaphor to the point of looking like an idiot.

 

As for you think thinking that Jihadists are targeting our freedom, sure I guess. They are out to convert the same as Christians, but in a far more violent way currently. But come on. Just how much of a threat are some Muslims half way around the world? Is anything they can possible do going to restrict our freedoms? The only way that is gong to happen is through our own government in response to something they do. They don't have some huge army on our boarder waiting to march upon is. Even if they did the worse thing possible and detonate a nuke on our soil, the only freedoms we would lose would be the ones that our government would take from us. The whole "they hate our freedom and want to take it from us" is only going to be realized by the actions of our own government.

[Juggernaut 11,054]

"But come on. Just how much of a threat are some Muslims half way around the world?"

 

~Nuff Said

[Tigerclaw_x 1]

Wow, did that teacher go to the courses in Indoctrination? It sounds SOOO much like everything we have been taught in USSR?

"Your right to education and free medicine has been given to you by the Great October Socialist Revolution, which threw off the yoke of slavery from the Proletariat. It has been given to you by the Great Lenin and the Communist Party of Soviet Union, who are carrying on his ideals and dreams to make them a reality."

Wow, that some great indoctrination stunt she pulled. Lets see, does it matter about veterans? Not really. US never was under threat of invasion. Does it matter about Taxes? Yes. It is America, folks. It is about MONEY. All about MONEY and POWER.

 

I dunno about what threat the muslims are to us. However, I know what threat we are to THEM. They killed 2000 people on Sept 11. Lets forget that people who commited this atrocity were not from Iraq, but from our good oil rich friend - Saudi Arabia. We since killed hundreds of thousands of them. Now, who is a threat to whom? If Muslims are a threat to us? And they are a threat - MAKE NO DOUBTS ABOUT IT.

All we should do is do to them the same thing we done to black panthers. Yet, we should start with our own DOMESTIC muslims, namely with Farrakhan's nation of islam. Juggernaut, no offence, but those guys who did Sept 11, did not fly the plane all the way from their homeland, Saudi Arabia. They were ALLOWED here, and NOBODY DID ANYTHING to stop them, though the reports about their strange behavior in flight schools were filed with FBI.

Muslims are a threat to Europe, yet, europe lets them in, and is paying for it. We are doing the same thing. Close the borders, kick them all out and it will secure the country. Is this in accordance with the US constitution?

No. Then again neither is Domestic Surveilance program. Security and the Rights of Legal Residents and Citizens are Above all else. ABove profits, above politics above ideals.

Edited April 26, 2007 by Tigerclaw_x

[SuAside 2]

*shrugs*

 

from here it looks like another publicity/propaganda stunt that you muricans eat up like candy.

 

seems pretty silly, but go right ahead.

[busy_squirrel 1]

Wow! Looks like I'll hafta avoid feeding the trolls until the get hungry and go away.

 

Besides, everytime I argue with idiots here at work they bring me down to their level and beat me with experience.

[44rdv4rk 0]

that's a strange way to teach kids to respect those in service to our country.

 

At the very least, the Teacher needs to practice her street theater some more.

 

and as a purely sophist point, even if the Nazis had won WWII they'd still have desks,

and even if extremist Islam were in charge, the boys would still have desks, where they would study the koran and bitch about infidels.

[DocV 0]

that's a strange way to teach kids to respect those in service to our country.

 

At the very least, the Teacher needs to practice her street theater some more.

 

and as a purely sophist point, even if the Nazis had won WWII they'd still have desks,

and even if extremist Islam were in charge, the boys would still have desks, where they would study the koran and bitch about infidels.

 

Good Lord people! Lighten up! It was a grade school teacher's attempt to instill a sense of respect and responsibilty in her students. She wasn't trying to win an Oscar I thought it was kind of a nice, small town America story so I passed it on here. Jeez. Quit taking yourselves so seriously.

 

DocV

[44rdv4rk 0]

...Jeez. Quit taking yourselves so seriously.

 

DocV

 

point taken.

 

[G O B 3,516]

That couldn't have happened around here. Not that we are not patriotic-we just don't have classrooms with enough extra room for that many people!