Some of my colleagues groaned when they heard the “stomach and soul” title of my talk at the National Catholic Educators Association meeting today in Indianapolis. As regular blog readers know, I try to think of “catchy” titles to attract your attention, and the same principle holds true for workshops I give. Here at the NCEA, we have an estimated 8,000 parochial school educators walking around choosing from hundreds of workshops, so I have to reel them in with something unusual.

The reality is, though, that what appeals to people on basic levels about Fair Trade does lead to more profound understandings. On the exhibit floor people have been drawn to the smell of coffee samples we’ve been handing out, thanks to our Indiana-based partners, Beans for a Better Life. When a person pauses to take a free sample, we can engage them in a conversation about how CRS Fair Trade has just updated our website with new educational resources created by colleague agencies and the winners of the Raise Money Right 2007 contest. Teachers are hungry, if you will, for good resources and fun ways to bring economic justice into the classroom. We may tempt them with coffee and chocolate, but their deeper desires for ways to convey Catholic Social Teaching is what gets them to stop and consider Fair Trade.

This is about my third year at the NCEA conference, and I always find it a great mixture of getting the word out about CRS Fair Trade but also listening to what is going on schools across the country. I used to be an elementary school teacher, and so I have a special place of reverence for folks who have stayed in the classroom, day in and day out, working to shape young hearts and minds. Talk about needing to grab attention! Teachers are competing with the internet, television and other influences of modern life. While they deal with incorporating testing requirements and extra-curricular activities into the daily mix, they have to impart important foundations of learning. Students for their part have to begin exploring their own place in a world that seems to get more complicated with each new day or new technological gadget. It is a tall order, and if CRS can help out a bit with unique approaches to justice through Fair Trade, I’ll risk sounding a little silly!

If your classroom has done a good (and fun!) job of bringing solidarity into the mix of required activities and objectives, comment here on the blog to share ideas. Or just give a shout out to a special student or educator who has made learning fun and meaningful. Whether it be at the campus level (see Cabrini students in this photo playing “Wallyball,” whatever that is!) or kindergarten, we’d like to know how Fair Trade really does speak to the body, mind or spirit!