Featured Story | Kelsey Timmerman

An alibi of 6 states, 6 schools, 7 days

By Kelsey

If I’m suspected of committing any crimes in Muncie, Indiana, over the past week, I have a string of good alibis. I haven’t been home.

I talked at Ashland University in Ohio on September 22nd and 23rd. From the student newspaper: “The man waving a pair of boxers above his head on the stage in Hugo Young Theatre Sept. 22 has possibly investigated more pairs of underwear than most of us own.”

I got home Friday evening and left early, early Sunday morning for Arkansas. (Okay, so maybe there were a few hours for me to commit some crime against society, but I was tired.)

I spoke at Centenary College in Shreveport on Monday. From their press release: “Timmerman began his talk by showing a pair of boxers to the students.” I don’t think that’s a crime. Centenary College had one of the first Glocal offices I’ve ever come across. They call it the Office of Global Engagement. Students have to meet an intercultural requirement, which usually involves a study abroad experience, and they also have a local volunteer requirement. They are producing glocals. How awesome is that?

Then it was off to Texas A&M Texarkana where “Where Am I Wearing?” was selected as their freshman common reader. (Texarkana College students also joined us for a few events.) I stayed in the dorm, which is not as bad as it sounds, and actually quite nice. I had an invite to stay up all night doing nails and talking metaphysics and boys, but I was too tired. The faculty was great, especially Ashlee Spearman who took me from place to place. By the end of my visit and countless chats with classes Ashlee could field most of the questions students asked me. We were also involved in a golf cart accident. I’ve been in worse golf cart accidents.

On Wednesday I flew to West Texas A&M where I was met by Kendra Campbell and Amy Andersen wearing “Where Am I Wearing? / Check the Tag!” shirts! That made me feel special right off the bat. President O’Brien invited us over for dinner and we had way more utensils than were needed. The steak was like butter! Seriously, you could cut it with your fork. It was a fancy shindig, but that didn’t stop me from smearing chocolate cake all over the crotch of my pants. I also learned that when someone invited you to sit down in the dining room, they actually mean to stand behind your chair until the hostess takes her seat. I was the only one sitting at the table and everyone else was standing. Awkward! The great thing was that despite the formal setting, everyone was really down-to-earth and SO passionate about connecting students to the world.

At the freshman convocation where I was the featured speaker, I had to wear regalia, but no one told me what I had to wear under my regalia. I wore my Jingle These boxers over my blue jeans. It was such an honor to talk to 1,200 folks, most of whom had read my book and knew the story of Arifa and all of the other garment workers I met on my journey.

On Friday WTAMU professors Nick Gerlich and Kris Drumheller arranged for me to visit Palo Duro high school. It was homecoming and everyone was wearing ginormous mums. Palo Duro was one of the most diverse high schools I’ve ever seen. I talked with the junior and seniors and then visited some individual classes. One class had students from Thailand, Laos, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Because of that I might be able to forgive them for not knowing what I was talking about when I made a Bon Jovi reference.

After Palo Duro. I spray painted Cadillacs, which is pretty much a must if you visit Amarillo.

It was an amazing week. When I set out on the journey that became “Where Am I Wearing?” I had no idea I would ever get the chance to share the story of the workers I met on this level. It’s an absolute honor and a whole lot of fun!

Engaged Consumer, Featured Story, This Writer’s Life

Why do we hate teachers?

By Kelsey

Okay, maybe the title of the post is a bit inflammatory, but consider this excerpt from a recent column in the NYTimes by Charles Hill:

McGraw-Hill Research Foundation and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that one of the differences between the United States and countries with high-performing school systems was: “The teaching profession in the U.S. does not have the same high status as it once did, nor does it compare with the status teachers enjoy in the world’s best-performing economies.”

The report highlights two examples of this diminished status:

• “According to a 2005 National Education Association report, nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years teaching; they cite poor working conditions and low pay as the chief reason.”
• “High school teachers in the U.S. work longer hours (approximately 50 hours, according to the N.E.A.), and yet the U.S. devotes a far lower proportion than the average O.E.C.D. country does to teacher salaries.”

Low wages, poor working conditions, and long hours?

Are we talking about the garment industry here? We’re not exactly showering teachers with love and apples; more like disdain and tomatoes.

In Hill’s column he cites a recent poll that found that 76% of Americans believe high-achieving students should be recruited to be teachers and that 67% would like for their own child to become a teacher. Yet teachers and the education system as a whole continue to be criticized.

We rarely talk about high-performing teachers. Instead the conversation turns to mediocre and incompetent teachers who aren’t held accountable.

But here’s the thing…

It only takes one teacher to change the course of your life.

From kindergarten through college I had somewhere between 70 and 80 teachers. I probably can’t name half of them. And of the half I can remember, some I remember for not great reasons. But there are a select few I will never forget:

Mrs. Suitts, 3rd grade: She used to grab my ear, pull up, and walk me on my tiptoes out of her class. I was a bit of a class clown, but she believed in me. In 3rd grade I went from the lowest reading group to the highest. She even had me tested for the TAG (talented-and-gifted) program, to which I was admitted. Mrs. Suitts helped me realize that I had more to offer than the occasional class disruption.

Mrs. Birt, 5th grade: I wrote a story about a boy who found a pair of flying shoes. Mrs. Birt entered it into a contest in which I won honorable mention. More than that she encouraged me to write. I bumped into her at the county fair last year and she still uses some of my stories as examples in her class. There’s a moment in every writer’s story where someone steps into their life and says, “You can write!” Mrs. Birt was that person for me.

Mrs. Marshall, 11th & 12th grades: Poor Mrs. Marshall. By the time I reached her class I was on cruise control. I was all about the Cliff’s Notes and doing assignments the class period before they were due. She tried to start a summer reading program with myself and two of my classmates. We were supposed to have read “A Tale of Two Cities” by our first meeting. None of us did. Our lack of effort was disgusting and Mrs. Marshall’s efforts despite us were inspiring. I’ve since apologized to her many times and she still proofs my work to this day.

Jonathan Levy, Geology professor of Miami University: I took every class at Miami that Dr. Levy taught. One of them even required knowing calculus, which I did not. I missed every calculus question on every test and still got a B because Dr. Levy inspired me to study hard. Dr. Levy didn’t just talk about volcanoes, glaciers, caves, and plate tectonics, he showed us pictures of him exploring them. He taught me that learning begins in the classroom, but true knowledge can’t be gained from a book. When I decided to travel after college, I discussed my itinerary with Dr. Levy. Many of the places I visited on that first trip, I first saw in photos he had taken that he showed us in class.

If there is a more selfless profession than teaching others, year after year, something that you already know, I don’t know what it is.

On behalf of society, I apologize to all of the teachers out there. We don’t give you enough pay, time, or credit.

Preparing for Tomorrow

My sister-in-law, Emily Taylor, teaches kindergarten at Mississinawa Valley, my alma mater, and today, Labor Day, a day off, she’s at school in her classroom preparing for tomorrow.

Happy Labor Day teachers!

Think of three teachers who made a difference to you. Feel free to share who and why in the comments, but, more importantly, send your teachers a note of thanks.

“Teachers make a God-damned difference. What about you?”

Featured Story, Mad World

Asking the wrong questions about TOMS Shoes

By Kelsey

I’m quoted in a LA Weekly story on TOMS shoes.

Since I’ve started to think about and research TOMS my stance has been best summed up as such: the problem isn’t shoelessness; it’s poverty.

At the best TOMS is addressing a symptom of poverty, not poverty itself. At the worst, TOMS is exploiting those living in poverty to sell shoes and hindering the local shoe business of their giving locations by giving away free shoes.

The author of the piece, Patrick McDonald, even gave me the last word on TOMS in the piece:

“You see the impact of how a job can change lives,” says Timmerman, “of how it can give a person dignity.”

He adds, “TOMS is a feel-good story, but you pull back the veil a little bit and you just go, ‘Oh, man, I really wish that’s not the case.’ ”

But it’s not the last word that makes me uneasy about this piece. It’s the first words. The piece is titled: “Is Blake Mycoskie an Evangelical?” (I knew that the business model of TOMS was being called into question when I granted the interview, but I didn’t know the hook was going to focus on the religious beliefs of TOMS’ founder.)

So what if he is?

From the LA Weekly story:

Christianity Today reporter Sarah Pulliam Bailey points out that, in the past, Mycoskie’s evangelical activity “hasn’t been a problem for him. But now, it is.”

She revealed July 10 that Mycoskie attends Mosaic, an L.A. evangelical Christian church that’s considered more multicultural than mainstream evangelical institutions.

Mycoskie also spoke at an official TOMS event at Abilene Christian University, an evangelical college that refused to allow formation of a gay-straight alliance; and at an evangelical Christian conference hosted by influential pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, a megachurch that has promoted the idea that gays and lesbians should be celibate or seek therapy.

The whole “Blake is an evangelical Christian and evangelical Christians hate the gays” leap is a big one. Yes, there are churches and groups that are actively involved in the anti-gay rights movement, but it takes a pretty broad brush to say they ALL are — every single one of them — for praying away the gay. This whole issue blew up after Mycoskie spoke to Focus on the Family a group known for it’s strong anti-gay stance.

In response to the uproar Blake writes on his blog:

These past few weeks have been some of the most difficult of my life. When I accept an invitation for a public speaking engagement, my purpose is to share the TOMS story and our giving mission. In no way do I believe that this means I endorse every single aspect of the organization I am speaking to. That may be naïve, and you may disagree, but it is my sincere belief.

As someone who speaks all over the country to all kinds of groups, I agree with Blake. I’ve talked with groups whose worldviews are different than my own. In fact, I think it’s important to do this. Whether on stage or in life we shouldn’t isolate our interactions to those who only see the world exactly as we do. Otherwise – if we believe their views need changed – how will we change them?

I believe that gay rights is a human rights issue and not a faith one. But it doesn’t matter what I believe about gay rights because groups don’t bring me in to talk about it. To me it doesn’t matter what the groups politics or faith is, I have my message and I’m honored to deliver it. I suspect Blake is the same.

But the question about Blake shouldn’t be, “Is he an evangelical? It should be, “Can producing shoes in China for $2.50, selling those shoes to American consumers for $60 using the faces and feet of the world’s poor as a marketing agent, and giving an even cheaper pair of shoes away in Ethiopia, all while being a private company operating with the opacity with which that provides, an ethical way to do business or just a way to make lots of money? To me TOMS 1-for-1 model looks more like 1 for TOMS and .1 for those living in poverty.

Nike has more social accountability than TOMS. And all of this “Blake believes in Jesus so he must hate gay people” business is just distracting from what really matters…

People that have jobs can always buy shoes.

I’d like to see TOMS manufacture all of their shoes in factories that provide good jobs that put the workers’ kids through school and improve lives. If they did this, I would go from being the go-to-guy for quotes criticizing TOMS to one of the company’s biggest supporters.

That would be a business I would support, and, I don’t care what you believe, I’d tell you about it.
—

Does this guy look like he'd be against gay rights?

Engaged Consumer, Featured Story, Giving Back, Mad World

A brush with the paparazzi

By Kelsey

On Monday I had my photo taken at least a thousand times by no less than 20 different photographers. It was one of those psuedo-famous moments where I felt like I was someone else, maybe even Lady Gaga. (Note: My butt cheeks weren’t hanging out.)

I was addressing high school students participating in Ball State’s summer journalism workshop. Photogs circled around the stage, in front and in back. At the top of the auditorium they stood on seats and tried to get an angle that no one else had imagined. I was less of a pseudo-celebrity and more of a bowl of fruit.

The title of my talk was “Confessions of an Untraditional Journalist.” You can read a summary of the talk on the site of the workshop. I talked about my path to do doing what I do today and how I didn’t wait for permission or assignments to go and tell the stories I wanted to tell. I should write this all down in a future blog post.

After my talk I did a 10-minute interview with some students that you can listen to here. The first question the student asked I found particularly interesting: “Have there been any stores that you’ve been emotionally unable to tell?”

A summary of my answer: It is my responsibility to the people who let me into their lives to tell their stories. I’ve yet to come across a story that, with the passing of some time, I’ve been unable to write about. That’s the thing I love about writing: it helps me make sense of the world.

Featured Story, This Writer’s Life

WTAMU using WAIW as their first year reader!

By Kelsey

I’m not sure if I’ve shared this yet, but four schools in the great state of Texas are using “Where Am I Wearing?” as a common reader this fall. This means that every single freshmen will get a copy of the book and be expected to read it. How awesome is that?!?

West Texas A&M University located just south of Amarillo is one of those schools. Here’s what they had to say in a recent press release about selecting WAIW in:

“We always try to select books with global issues for the Readership WT program and to have students consider what kind of impact they can have on our local and global communities,” Kendra Campbell, director of First Year Experience, said. “With this year’s book, Kelsey Timmerman gives us insight into the lives of people from several locations around the world and has us consider how we are connected to their circumstances.”

Copies of Where Am I Wearing are being distributed to incoming freshmen at the various New Student Orientations scheduled at WTAMU throughout the summer and at Buff Branding. Not only will the students be encouraged to “check your tag” but also to take part in the essay contest on the book, and semi-finalists for a spring trip to Honduras will be announced at the annual Convocation Sept. 29. Timmerman, author of the book, will be the Convocation’s keynote speaker. Where Am I Wearing also is the common reader for WTAMU sister schools Tarleton State and Texas A&M University at Texarkana.

“I love that it’s something 18 year olds can relate to and be challenged at the same time,” Campbell said. “They care about the clothes they wear, but have probably never considered how it connects them to the broader world. Their decision to buy that T-shirt had an impact on the lives of other people around the world. The conversation around the book reminds us to learn about the larger world of which we are a part and to strive to have a responsible impact on our global community.”

I want to win the trip to Honduras! Am I eligible?

I think I’m facebook friends with every single student leader at WTAMU so far. In honor of WTAMU centering their freshman experience around the phrase “check the tag” I’m bringing back my daily tag check. Each day I’ll do an update about where I’m wearing on facebook and twitter. I hope you’ll join me. I’ll use the hashtag #CheckTheTag.

Featured Story, This Writer’s Life