Apparently the campaign didn't end there. Marjorie Ingall tells us that more first- and second-grade students from the school created an array of anti-Starbucks messages ... which are now on display in the window at the Bean on Second Avenue and East Third Street.
We asked the Bean's Ike Escava how this came about.
"A teacher from the school came in and said that the kids prepared something for us and asked when it would be a good time for them to present it to us...they ended up coming in the next day — about 25 kids with handwritten cards about how much they love our shop and support us," he said. "It was truly heartwarming, as is all of the continuous support that we get from this remarkable neighborhood."
Previously on EV Grieve:
Today's sign of the apocalypse: Starbucks taking over The Bean's space on First Avenue and Third Street
hope for the future!
ReplyDeleteI almost cried reading this! Bless those little kids!
ReplyDeleteBest school project ever! I'm going to check it out this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI plan to check this out too!!
ReplyDeleteThey stayed up all night guzzling triple espressos to finish the artwork I hear!
ReplyDeleteDitto the Chitto.
ReplyDeleteThat's just amazing.
I wonder if any local news media might be interested / pick up this story? Seems a good "public perspective" / "In your neighborhood" type story.
Man that is great! Too young for coffee but they get it! But can they make Shaoul cry too?
ReplyDeletetell the lazy kids to walk one block west and they will find the BEAN!
ReplyDeleteAt least some NYC kids are a real education. I raise my glass to their teacher! Let's not forget about teachers that really mean well and are dedicated to their jobs!
ReplyDeletehistory repeating itself.
ReplyDeletewhen little ricky's was on the corner of first ave and 3rd st it sold stickers that somebody gave them that read "fuckoff coffee". they got sued by starbucks.
rickys has since folded replaced by the bean. the bean moved, and now the spot is starbucks.
i wouldn't be surprised that one day that 2nd ave 2nd st spot will be a starbucks in the future.
Not to be a Debby Downer but, do first and second graders really understand the concept of the hegemony of corporate retailers in our neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteI doubt it.
Don't get me wrong. I'm in the process of painting a sign for Tompkins Square Bagels which encourages the support of small biz rather than chain shops - I'm on Team Small Local Biz, fo sho.
But I feel uncomfortable at the thought of a teacher enlisting 6 year olds to enter the fray. That ain't right.
I want teachers to encourage discussion and debate - and give equal time to both sides - at least to the extent that first and second graders may do so. I do not want my kids' teachers, however, mustering an army of 6 year olds to support their own cause.
Even if I agree with it.
Because what if I didn't?
Leave my kids out of it.
@VH McKenzie, yes they do understand.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 3nd grade General Motors laid off 10,000 workers in Flint, Michigan, my hometown. GM opened factories in Mexico to replace those workers. It devastated us.
So in school, we little kids made cards, letters, and posters to send to GM that said "Save my Dad's job please." and "Please don't close the factory."
Big corporations have way too much power, and we need to instill into our youth very early what they're up against.
It's never too early to understand how the world works and how you can help change it for the better.
I wonder if these kids wear Nike sneakers and listen to iPods and drink Coke and Pepsi... To be hypocritical at such a young age. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I am with the previous poster who isn't so sure kids should be used in this way. They don't understand what they are talking about, and they don't walk the walk either. Not that it is their fault. They are kids, and it is their parents who dress them and feed them and buy them gadgets.
I don't see how these kids are being, "used." It's a school project wherein the lesson is to support local businesses. I don't think that's such a bad thing to teach children.
ReplyDeleteTHE BEAN IS NOT EVEN CLOSED!
ReplyDeleteVH -- my kid is in that class. it's not a school project and the initiative is not from the teachers! two little girls (not mine, i swear!) got the other kids riled up about the bean being a small local business, and starbucks being a big company, and which one should we support? yes, i assume their parents taught them this way of thinking, but isn't that how a lot of us learn values? i'm thrilled that the teachers supported the kids' interests, but i swear up and down the teachers did not come up with this. (we stopped by today -- and were greeted so warmly! -- so that my daughter could request a CORRECTION: they are room 308, not 305! she was assured a correction was forthcoming!)
ReplyDelete