A lesson that should be taught in all schools

[BillyVance 34]

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

On the first day of school, with the 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. Looking around, confused, they asked,

'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the 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 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 deskless 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 are 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) U.S. 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 ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story.

If anyone questions whether this is true or not, see here:
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/nodesks.asp

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Bdog 0]

That is so cool. Nothing in our lives is free.

_________________________________________

---Future Darwin Award recipient-

[kelpdiver 2]

I'd demand a transfer - nothing like a smartass teacher.

So all day she asks a question, and then finally at the end says sorry, there is no right answer. And the only students who saw the 'answer' were those in 7th period?

[Squeak 17]

You'll have to excuse me but i wont teach that lesson in my class.
I try very hard to not use guilt as a learning tool

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[jenfly00 0]

Better yet, home school them. Then you could really mind fuck them.

-----------------------
"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[birdlike 0]

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You'll have to excuse me but i wont teach that lesson in my class.
I try very hard to not use guilt as a learning tool

I'm in agreement. You might as well deny them ice cream for dessert after their dinner until you have coerced them to prostrate themselves before the veterans who earned them the ice cream.

As a concept, being grateful to veterans is just fine to me. But just like police officers and firemen, I don't think they should be huffy about being thanked or appreciated. If you go into that line of work, do it because you want to be doing that line of work. And if you're doing something that you like, what need is there for me to thank you for it.

Now, if people were conscripted into these jobs, then yes, I would expect the people who were not conscripted, and who benefited from the service they gave, to be appreciative.

This teacher sounds like she just wanted to get her name in the paper.

Personally, I like the "Pay It Forward" concept if that's what the goal is. At least that actually accomplishes a discernible good.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

[akarunway 1]

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That is so cool. Nothing in our lives is free.

How about critical and independent thought instead of indoctrination.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[popsjumper 2]

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You'll have to excuse me but i wont teach that lesson in my class.
I try very hard to not use guilt as a learning tool

So....you oppose the grading system, too? All those D and F students must be really proud of their accomplishments.

Guilt is a learning used throughout the world. Your parents used it on you. I guarantee you will use it on your kids if you have them. Like it or not, there is no such thing as a guilt-free society.

And yes, taken too far, it can also be a destructive tool.

In this case, I think not.

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You might as well deny them ice cream for dessert after their dinner until you have coerced them to prostrate themselves before the veterans who earned them the ice cream.

Yes...that's just another non-destructive way to get the message across.

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As a concept, being grateful to veterans is just fine to me.

And there's a problem with helping young people understand what one of the things there is in this country to be grateful for?

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But just like police officers and firemen, I don't think they should be huffy about being thanked or appreciated. If you go into that line of work, do it because you want to be doing that line of work. And if you're doing something that you like, what need is there for me to thank you for it.

Boy! That's a screwball way of looking at things!
So...you never don't feel it's necessary to say thank you for services rendered voluntarily?
These guys will just love you...
-All the people who voluntarily joined the military at war-time
-Waiters/Waitresses
-Your diver driver
-Policemen
-Firemen
-EMTs
-Doctors
-Lawyers
-...ad infinitum

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Now, if people were conscripted into these jobs, then yes, I would expect the people who were not conscripted, and who benefited from the service they gave, to be appreciative.

So it's OK to say thanks to those who do NOT want to serve you but are forced to do it anyway? Nice to say thanks to them, yes, but not to the ones who do it voluntarily?

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Personally, I like the "Pay It Forward" concept if that's what the goal is. At least that actually accomplishes a discernible good.

So how are these students to know what it is to pay forward if you don't tell them? Obviously, they weren't "getting it" by reading or whatever. A demonstration is one way to help them understand.

Maybe you guys are simply arguing your opinions on whether the demonstration used was constructive or destructive.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Andy9o8 2]

The geographic/subcultural differences among the various posters in this thread are palpable. Even without looking at the profiles, you can practically tell where each person grew up based solely on his/her post. It would make an interesting sociology paper.

[Squeak 17]

Andy, I dont use a grading system, I work in an "Outcomes based" education system.
Moreover I have the flexibility to work with my pupils at length and one on one.
What ever image you have in your head about a classroom will most likely look nothing like how I work.
I start from and end with a notion of "Total positive regard" with my kids.
(not so with a lot of adults i deal with)

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Squeak 17]

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The geographic/subcultural differences among the various posters in this thread are palpable. Even without looking at the profiles, you can practically tell where each person grew up based solely on his/her post. It would make an interesting sociology paper.

You would probably be wrong with me (other than Country of origin)

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[JackC 0]

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The geographic/subcultural differences among the various posters in this thread are palpable. Even without looking at the profiles, you can practically tell where each person grew up based solely on his/her post. It would make an interesting sociology paper.

I'll bet you could tell something about their political views too.

[ErricoMalatesta 0]

The lesson that should be taught in all schools is that a qualified social studies teacher should know a lot fucking better than to think the US military has ever done anything to secure the freedom of the domestic population that wasn't incidental and didn't coincide with the goals of the elite.

[nanook 1]

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The lesson that should be taught in all schools is that a qualified social studies teacher should know a lot fucking better than to think the US military has ever done anything to secure the freedom of the domestic population that wasn't incidental and didn't coincide with the goals of the elite

Good lesson to be taught. Maybe not by a social studies teacher, but by a guidance counselor. You see, the true statement you posted is inferring something negative, but there's fact here. only the elite can motivate, move and create at such a grand scale. the janitor? Not really there.

It's not conspiracy theory that the goals that the elite have are self-serving. Especially because most people don't complain if the same qualities serve(even accidently) the masses positively, such as jobs, products, services. ect ect.

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[ErricoMalatesta 0]

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The lesson that should be taught in all schools is that a qualified social studies teacher should know a lot fucking better than to think the US military has ever done anything to secure the freedom of the domestic population that wasn't incidental and didn't coincide with the goals of the elite

Good lesson to be taught. Maybe not by a social studies teacher, but by a guidance counselor. You see, the true statement you posted is inferring something negative, but there's fact here.

Yeah its positive that small amounts of people have all the power...

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only the elite can motivate, move and create at such a grand scale. the janitor? Not really there.

I'm sure regular people can "motivate, move and create at such a grand scale" whatever that entails.

***
It's not conspiracy theory that the goals that the elite have are self-serving. Especially because most people don't complain if the same qualities serve(even accidently) the masses positively, such as jobs, products, services. ect ect.

[mnealtx 0]

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Better yet, home school them. Then you could really mind fuck them.

Yeah, they're SURE mind-fucked.... info from HSLDA.org

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Recently released statistics show the 2006 average ACT composite score for homeschooled students was 22.4, compared to the national average composite of 21.1!

Now homeschoolers have an unbroken record for the last 10 years—since 1996, when testing officials started tracking them—of scoring higher on the ACT than the national average.

For example, the 2005 average ACT composite score for homeschooled students was 22.5, compared to the national average of 20.9.
The 8,075 homeschool graduates who took the ACT in 2005 comprised about 1 percent of all those who took the college entrance exam.

The 1996 ACT results showed that in English, homeschoolers scored 22.5, compared to the national average of 20.3. In math, homeschoolers scored 19.2, compared to the national average of 20.2. In reading, homeschoolers outshone their public school counterparts 24.1 to 21.3. In science, homeschoolers scored 21.9, compared to 21.1.

According to the 1998 ACT High School Profile Report, 2,610 graduating homeschoolers took the ACT and scored an average of 22.8 out of a possible 36 points. This score is slightly higher than the 1997 report released on the results of 1,926 homeschool graduates, which found that homeschoolers maintained an average of 22.5. This is higher than the national average, which was 21.0 in both 1997 and 1998.

In 2003, Iowa State University’s admissions department data showed that homeschoolers had a 26.1 mean ACT composite score, as compared to a 24.6 mean score for all entering freshmen beginning in the fall of that year. The University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) have also seen higher ACT and SAT averages from homeschoolers in comparison to the total school population. The cumulative admissions data from UNI reveals that the average ACT score for homeschoolers was nearly 2 points higher than that of regular freshmen: 25 versus 23.5.

In 2004, the 7,858 homeschool students taking the ACT scored an average of 22.6, compared to the national average of 20.9.

Since 1985, research consistently shows that homeschoolers on average do better than the national average on standardized achievement tests for the elementary and secondary grade levels.

This academic success continues through college.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[mnealtx 0]

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That is so cool. Nothing in our lives is free.

How about critical and independent thought instead of indoctrination.

Then why put your kids in public schools?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[jcd11235 0]

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Better yet, home school them. Then you could really mind fuck them.

Yeah, they're SURE mind-fucked.... info from HSLDA.org

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Recently released statistics show the 2006 average ACT composite score for homeschooled students was 22.4, compared to the national average composite of 21.1!

Now homeschoolers have an unbroken record for the last 10 years—since 1996, when testing officials started tracking them—of scoring higher on the ACT than the national average.

For example, the 2005 average ACT composite score for homeschooled students was 22.5, compared to the national average of 20.9.
The 8,075 homeschool graduates who took the ACT in 2005 comprised about 1 percent of all those who took the college entrance exam.

The 1996 ACT results showed that in English, homeschoolers scored 22.5, compared to the national average of 20.3. In math, homeschoolers scored 19.2, compared to the national average of 20.2. In reading, homeschoolers outshone their public school counterparts 24.1 to 21.3. In science, homeschoolers scored 21.9, compared to 21.1.

According to the 1998 ACT High School Profile Report, 2,610 graduating homeschoolers took the ACT and scored an average of 22.8 out of a possible 36 points. This score is slightly higher than the 1997 report released on the results of 1,926 homeschool graduates, which found that homeschoolers maintained an average of 22.5. This is higher than the national average, which was 21.0 in both 1997 and 1998.

In 2003, Iowa State University’s admissions department data showed that homeschoolers had a 26.1 mean ACT composite score, as compared to a 24.6 mean score for all entering freshmen beginning in the fall of that year. The University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) have also seen higher ACT and SAT averages from homeschoolers in comparison to the total school population. The cumulative admissions data from UNI reveals that the average ACT score for homeschoolers was nearly 2 points higher than that of regular freshmen: 25 versus 23.5.

In 2004, the 7,858 homeschool students taking the ACT scored an average of 22.6, compared to the national average of 20.9.

Since 1985, research consistently shows that homeschoolers on average do better than the national average on standardized achievement tests for the elementary and secondary grade levels.

This academic success continues through college.

I wonder what the variance, median and mode of scores is for home schooled students versus the national average. It would also be interesting to compare the rates at which home schooled students take the ACT compared to the national rate. Means only tell part of the story.

My personal experiences with home schooled students has been they are either way ahead or way behind their peers, academically speaking. That sample has been far too small to be meaningful, however.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[kelpdiver 2]

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For example, the 2005 average ACT composite score for homeschooled students was 22.5, compared to the national average of 20.9.
The 8,075 homeschool graduates who took the ACT in 2005 comprised about 1 percent of all those who took the college entrance exam.

And here is the obvious problem - self selection. There is an estimated 1.1M homeschooled kids in the country - simple math suggests slightly less than 10% would be at the precollege age, which has about 10% of them taking the ACT. Meanwhile, about 40% of the graduated class take this test. The implication is that only the best of the home school are going to college and taking the test. Meanwhile, the Div I athletes are taking the test multiple times to secure a prop 48 qualifier score.

Without considering the population sizes, or the number taking the SAT instead (few in CA take the ACT), your scoring differential has little value as proof. Esp when large cults of insular religious types keep getting found with grossly uneducated offspring.

[jenfly00 0]

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The geographic/subcultural differences among the various posters in this thread are palpable. Even without looking at the profiles, you can practically tell where each person grew up based solely on his/her post. It would make an interesting sociology paper.

I'll bet you could tell something about their political views too.

Concerning war and those who worship at the alter:

I don’t trust people who make bitter reflections about war. ... It’s always the generals with the bloodiest records who are the first to shout what a Hell it is. And it’s always the widows who lead the Memorial Day parades … we shall never end wars ... by blaming it on ministers and generals or warmongering imperialists or all the other banal bogies. It’s the rest of us who build statues to those generals and name boulevards after those ministers; the rest of us who make heroes of our dead and shrines of our battlefields. We wear our widows’ weeds like nuns and perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. My brother died at Anzio – an everyday soldier’s death, no special heroism involved. They buried what pieces they found of him. But my mother insists he died a brave death and pretends to be very proud.

...

[Y]ou see, now my other brother can’t wait to reach enlistment age. That’ll be in September. May be ministers and generals who blunder us into wars, but the least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution. What has my mother got for pretending bravery was admirable? She’s under constant sedation and terrified she may wake up one morning and find her last son has run off to be brave.

-- Charlie Madison, in The Americanization of Emily

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"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[FallingOsh 0]

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So, I preach cowardice. Through cowardice, we shall all be saved.

Yes. Perfect. Finally something to strive for. We should teach our sons and daughters this. Then they can have a long and fullfilling life of never standing up for anything they believe in. Just back down when someone challenges your opinion. Sit at home and collect welfare because succeeding in life takes drive, ambition, and tenacity.

I hope that was a joke.

--------------------------------------------------
Stay positive and love your life.

[jenfly00 0]

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So, I preach cowardice. Through cowardice, we shall all be saved.

Yes. Perfect. Finally something to strive for. We should teach our sons and daughters this. Then they can have a long and fullfilling life of never standing up for anything they believe in. Just back down when someone challenges your opinion. Sit at home and collect welfare because succeeding in life takes drive, ambition, and tenacity.

I hope that was a joke.

Go get em, tuff guy.

-----------------------
"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[nanook 1]

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Yeah its positive that small amounts of people have all the power...

Yeah, but truthfully, if all power and control was shared equally, there would be no nations, infastructure, culture, religion, interests, motivation, cars, roads, assholes to hate. Bit extreme, but between total dictatorship and pure equalness is the area that allows a few individuals to lead others and form cohesive structures.

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I'm sure regular people can "motivate, move and create at such a grand scale" whatever that entails.

If you can do that, you aren't so regular anymore.

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People don't complain? I'm pretty sure most of the world actually do complain.

when it works against them.

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[skydyvr 0]

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Better yet, home school them. Then you could really mind fuck them.

My cousin has three daughters, all home schooled thru 12th grade.

One is a medical doctor (OB/GYN) in her residency.

Another is a defense lawyer working in D.C.

The youngest will graduate as an RN next year. I reckon she's the failure among them.

. . =(_8^(1)

[akarunway 1]

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That is so cool. Nothing in our lives is free.

How about critical and independent thought instead of indoctrination.

Then why put your kids in public schools?

I never would. My bitch ex wifes did. I had no say.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.