"Thats just plain ignorant, man"

So this year, me and my friends participated in One Day Without Shoes (created and sponsored by TOMS shoes). I wasn't sure how this was going to go as we were headed into a semi-strict public high school (for.. school). I created a facebook page for this--> it was a page where I told my fellow students to donate shoes to Soles4Souls, which is a non-profit charity organization, and also to join along on OD w/o shoes if they so pleased. 30 people said they would go barefoot! I was thrilled. I guess I never blogged about this.. but I wrote something that night, both to remember that day and also as a possible article in the school newspaper.

"I found solidarity in my math class. I found solidarity in my french class. I didn't feel ashamed in my science class (spirit was boosted).

By around 10 oclock I found that some teachers aren't humans...

Case 1: I can recall one lumbering towards my friends and I, hood up, skinny body with clunking feet. His little round face complete with glasses looked at us; I had shoved my feet into my shoes out of sheer terror at the sight of him. And then he said that thing that makes him that thing.
He said "You need to put your shoes on" with a long, cool voice, then he completed his monologue with "thats just plain ignorant of you". Me and my friend were audibly choking- didn't know what to say first or how to say "haha" "what you just said was so ignorant" and "are you kidding" all at the same time. My friend said "well I don't think its ignorant... its for a good cause" something along those lines. I followed with "its about raising awareness. We want people to think. Its a conversation starter- we want people to learn what they wouldnt otherwise know"

I don't know what he looked like when he said this, I just think of a bird. He said "Thats great. Put your shoes on" and walked away. Later I spoke with a girl who had had the joy of meeting this pleasant teacher; she said he said the same thing. He said what we were doing was ignorant, twice. It wasn't a word slip- hes an english teacher. My Mac says "ignorant- adjective- lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated" then it gave me a sample sentence in which the word ignorant was next to the word stupid.

case 2: A teacher was traffic directing the crowd while telling us to stop our little "protest"

case 3: One joined in with us, then yelled at us

case 4: one joked around, pretending to step on my friends bare feet

case 5: one nodded his head, and smiled and said "cool"

case 6: one said that is was fine to be barefoot in his/her class, but to put on shoes when leaving

case 7: one said, okay, lets just not talk about it

case 8: many saw and didnt say anything"

I mean all in all, it was semi-successful. Me and my friend even walked around during a fire drill when it was pouring rain barefoot, thats something to spice up a day in school. It was great. I do appreciate my things a lot, especially my shoes. It was just nice to relay information concerning the global need for shoes to people who didn't already know.

I was amazed to hear stories of people going barefoot in cities like London...!

*photo from brittney t.'s photostream on Flickr