The clothes make the post

Back in June, when I first wrote about school uniforms (i.e. tilboshet achidah, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you), I assumed that I’d basically covered (no pun intended) the subject.

But as it turned out, school uniforms proved to be an endless source of blogging material.

For instance, they inspired a dinnertime Heblish post and served as the basis of a pseudo-American post.

In addition, they made a cameo appearance in a binder post and starred in an unintended consequences post.

Not bad for a collection of colorful cotton t-shirts, huh?

And in fact, that’s only the beginning.

Because by the time you finish reading this post, those seemingly-ubiquitous tops will have induced me to add a new entry to the Official Our Shiputzim Adar Lexicon:

(Hint: A quick review of the original Adar post might be helpful at this point. Go ahead and read it. I’ll wait...)

Takanon (תקנון) – Literally, a charter or a set of rules/bylaws. Mainly applicable in elementary schools, it refers to a list of “laws” enacted by the sixth graders (and approved by the administration).

The takanon usually remains in effect for the two weeks between Rosh Chodesh Adar and Purim and includes rules such as:

• “No tests.”
• “The students may eat during class.”
• “If the teacher comes late, the students get a free period.”

This year, however, the typical takanon also featured a day when uniforms were not required. (In some schools, the teachers were supposed to “wear” the uniform shirts instead.)

Needless to say, this new edict was a huge hit with  the elementary school crowd, who naturally appreciated the rare chance to pick out their own clothes.

But as far as I’m concerned, the best part of the exercise was that it allowed me to produce an entire post out of, um, whole cloth…