My Favorite Shoes

We all have favorite things.  It could be a type of food, a movie, an item of clothing, a subject, or a person.  They are things we turn to.  They wrap us like a warm blanket. They often make us feel good and bring us happiness.  When we have had a tough day, they are the things we turn to.

I often wonder how favorites become favorites. Maybe it is an item that got us through a hard time.  Maybe it is something that we have just always used.  It might be something that just clicks with us.  Favorites often carry memories for us. They take us to a place and time that was meaningful in our lives.  I also feel that sometimes favorites become favorites because they are the things that make us comfortable.

Take this pair of shoes.

This pair of purple tennis shoes are my favorite.  They have seen a lot of miles.  They were with me when I ran (all the way through) my first 5k.  They have walked and ran many miles in the halls of Elkton School.  They have helped me climb trails when camping.  They were the shoes I wore when I went through my melanoma surgeries and lumpectomy. I have taken them to other countries with me. They are purple (my second favorite color) and they are comfortable.  I have tried buying other shoes, but I always come back to these purple Asics.

This summer these shoes got me from one end of the building to another, through piles of dust, mudding, and glue.  I began to notice that this pair of shoes was not going to come clean. After all these miles (and very little tread left), I began to prepare myself to put these shoes aside.  I have had many conversations with myself about letting them go.  Shoes are expensive.  Do I really need a new pair? These shoes are comfortable.  I might not like how a new pair feels.  It will take a while to break new shoes in.  They might give me blisters.  I should just hang on to these and keep wearing them.

Sometimes our teaching can be like this pair of purple shoes.  We hang on to a lesson or a procedure because it is comfortable.  It may be our favorite thing to teach, but it is no longer part of our standards for our grade or subject area.  We may be fearful of trying something new.  It may be messy.  It may hurt.  It may be uncomfortable.  We may say we have always done it this way (Insert Kelly's line of:  it is ok to teach 20 years...just don't teach the same year 20 times). So we often talk ourselves out of it.  Doing so, we may miss out on an opportunity to see growth in our students and ourselves.  We may overlook something that will bring us (and our students) joy.

So...I challenge you to try that new lesson.  Try something new.  It may not be perfect to begin with, but as you keep going, you will break it in.  It will become yours.  You may find that this new thing is your new favorite.

Let's hope that is true about my new black Brooks.