Teachers & stuff

Thankful Friday
Today is the last day of school. Bring on the long summer days, Y camp, warm evenings playing softball, sweaty weekends of tournament baseball, and Kruk & Kuip on the radio.

Bring on hot days and fog-cooled afternoons and— if all goes well—a mid-summer bash at our place (of course you're invited)!

Bring on Sugarpine Lake in August!

But first, a Thankful Friday moment before tumbling headlong into summer:

I'm thankful for Teacher Elizabeth, for being so gentle and playful and for making it so easy for Kai to love school. On the rare occassions that we arrived on time this year and Kai spotted Teacher Elizabeth on her way to class, she'd start squeaking with excitement and bouncing in her seat, practically hyperventilating, "Elizabethelizabethelizabeth!"

Kai was always so crazy happy to see Elizabeth that almost before I'd come to a stop she'd burst out of the car and away, flush with excitement and praying ("Elizabethelizabethelizabeth!") that she'd catch her before she got to the classroom. I'm so thankful for that!

I'm thankful for Taavi's "teacher," Becky, who runs the small family daycare where Taavi eats quinoa and "yellow soup" and big bowls of chicken and beans, where he's learned to write his letters and sound out words, where he goes to the Farmer's Market on Tuesdays and plays at the water table and paints. Where he has the cutest, dearest friends and where he's safe and secure and loved.

I'm thankful for Eli's teacher, Ms Rod, despite her habit of presenting questionable knowledge as fact and telling all the kids they have to wear deodorant. As she did with Caiman when he was in fourth grade, she often sent Eli home with outdated calendars and garage sale knick-knacks and day old bread.

"Look what I got from Ms. Rod!"

"Oh, wow. It's a ceramic cowboy boot. Hm."

"Isn't it cool?"

And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful for all of Caiman's teachers at Berkeley High, especially Ms. T (who demonstrated patience above & beyond the call of duty and always treated Caiman with respect) and Ms. G (who held Socratic seminars on race and racism, gender and sexuality, globalism and exploitation, with freshman of all races, socio-economic backgrounds, maturity levels, preconceived notions, attitudes, insecurities and bravado.)

Bravo!

I don't know if Ms. G has any idea that Caiman actually learned anything from her this year, because he wasn't too good at turning in any evidence of it. But I know he did, because he'd talk about what they were studying. She got him thinking and forming his own opinions.

She got me thinking, too. She got me thinking about stuff.

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Generally speaking, I don't like buying stuff.

It takes up too much room, and it costs money.

I hate spending money on stuff. Unless it's a vacation or sports team dues or books or really great socks. I can't stand shopping for clothes, and I wear the same jeans and t-shirts until they fall to bits.

But there's certain stuff I need to buy every so often. Like laundry detergent, toothpaste, underwear, birthday cards, tape, a pair of jeans to replace the pair that finally disintegrated in the laundry, and cat food.

So where do you think I shop?

That's right: TARGET. Target is where I go when I need stuff.

Then, along comes Ms. G's end-of-year project: pick a favorite piece of clothing, and write about where it's from and how it got made. We chose a pair of Mossimo shorts from Target, and before you know it we were up to our eyeballs in sweatshop stories.

We determined a plausible birth story for his shorts, and it wasn't pretty:

1. Cotton grown in India, likely harvested by child laborers exposed to deadly pesticides


2. Buttons and zippers from factories in China


3. Stitched in a factory in Jordan by guest workers who'd their passports confiscated upon arrival and been cheated out of promised pay, forced to work 15 hours a day and routinely beaten for slowing down

Here are a few of the nuggets Caiman and I found while researching his project:

• Target: Wal-Mart Lite, by Kari Lydersen.
• Where Am I Wearing?, a blog (and soon to be a book) by Kelsey Timmerman, a regular guy who set out on a mission to find out where his favorite shirt was made and ended up, well... check out his blog!
• This New York Times piece about the pros and cons of sweatshops, which Kelsey referred us to. Thanks, Kelsey! I'm an avid proponent of recognizing, exploring and being mind-boggled by shades of gray, and really appreciated a well-written piece that didn't paint the issue in absolutes.
• Michael Lackman runs an online apparel shop called LotusOrganics.com. He also authors a well-written, eye-opening blog about the cotton industry, and like Kelsey was kind enough to answer the email I sent him. Thanks, Michael!

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So what now? I'm not going to swear I'll never go to Target again. Because where else can I get a 10-pack of kid's socks for $7 and a night-light for Taavi and a white blouse for Kai's Cinco de Mayo performance?

But next time I desperately need a new pair of jeans or a couple of shirts, I'm going to be aware and shop around. So thanks, Ms. G, and Kelsey and Michael. Thanks to everyone out there who teaches others to be a little more inquisitive, to broaden their horizons, to write stories and recycle used calendars and try quinoa. You done good!

Now go and have yourself a great summer!

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Place I Might Look for Clothes Next Time I Need 'Em...

LotusOrganics
(shirts, leggings, shorts, pants, skirts)

No Sweat Apparel
(tank tops, t-shirts, business / casual wear, hoodies, jeans, socks and more)

AFL-CIO "Shop Union-Made"
(jeans, hats, shirts and more)

Justice Clothing Company
(winter hats, outerwear, casual and sportswear)

Union Jean and Apparel Company
(jeans, fleeces, jackets and dress shirts)

Ben Davis
(pants, overalls, shirts, hats/caps and jackets)

Maggie’s Functional Organics
(camisoles and a variety of shirts)