One Day Without Shoes: 2016 Edition

Pretty much everyone has heard of Toms Shoes. What started out as basic canvas shoes has really exploded into so much more than that. And it all started because the founder of Toms, Blake Mycoskie, went to Argentina and witnessed, firsthand, the effects of children living without shoes. Lacking something as basic as shoes can led to illness and the inability to attend school. 

A lot of us see these struggles, whether it's on TV or Facebook or through trips of our own, but are unable, or unwilling, to actually do anything to help solve the problem. But Blake actually did. In 2006, he started the Toms company. It has since expanded to, not only giving shoes, but funding to help restoring sight to those who need it, clean water, safe birthing experiences to those in impoverished countries, and bullying prevention. 

All of this started because one man saw the need for a change and realized that the "someone" who should help out was him. 

Which definitely Toms One Day Without Shoes one of my Top Five Favorite Holidays. (And joining ranks with Thanksgiving, 4th of July, and Cinco de Mayo is definitely a big deal.)

As in years past, we spent a few days talking about all things empathy. And kindness. And mercy. And we watched this video which may or may not make me tear up every single time we watch it.

Because regardless of our age or social status, we can promote change. This is the biggest message that I want my kids to understand. They may be "only" 9 or 10 years old, but they can spark change NOW. When they're older, I don't want them to forget the impact that they can have on others.

And, of course, we collected shoes.

Because WE can be the someone to step up and change the world.

One Day Without Shoes-- 2012 Edition (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
One Day Without Shoes-- 2013 Edition (Siguatepeque, Honduras)
One Day Without Shoes-- 2014 Edition (Siguatepeque, Honduras)
One Day Without Shoes-- 2015 Edition (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

One Day Without Shoes-- 2015 Edition

"This one goes out to the heroes. Every day heroes. Yeah, I'm talking to you. You probably are all like, "I'm not a hero. You're talking to the wrong person." And I'm all like, "You're talking to your TV!" So listen up! I think you're a hero and don't even know it yet. Maybe you're like me. You look in the mirror and you don't really see a hero. You look and you just see a regular kid. A really good-looking regular kid. But you? You're a hero. Whether you're a kid or a grown-up. You're way more than you might think you are. You're more than your problems and you're more than your mistakes. Somewhere inside, you're a hero. You might not have a cape or wear underwear outside your clothes (that's probably a good thing). You have everything right now to change the world. EVERYTHING! Heroes are just ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. They inspire other people to be extraordinary."

-- Kid President (For the Heroes)

Kid President is awesome. He and I could say the exact same thing (I could even dress up in a cape and jump off benches in the park) and my students are going to be more receptive to Kid President because he's their age. He's also hysterical and charismatic and I wish he was a student in my class.

His "For the Heroes" video tied in perfectly with TOMS One Day Without Shoes campaign which just so happens to be one of my favorite days of the entire year. TOMS is an American based company that started in 2006, when it's founder, Blake Mycoskie, traveled to Argentina and witnessed, firsthand, the hardships faced by children living without shoes. (You can read all about how TOMS got started and how the company has grown on the TOMS website.) TOMS operates under the motto "One For One"-- for every pair of shoes that is purchased, another pair is donated to a child in need.

I think it's easy for people, especially elementary school students, to think that they're too insignificant to make any real change. TOMS has clearly blown that myth to pieces as they have donated over 35 million pairs of shoes since it's foundation. There are many pieces of wisdom that I hope to bestow upon my students (multiplication, long division, the scientific method), but more importantly that differences among people are what make us special, that our words and actions have lasting impacts on those around us, and that each person is capable to make significant change in the world around them.

And so we went barefoot. We learned about empathy versus sympathy, we laughed along with Kid President, we posted photos on Instagram with the hashtag #withoutshoes, we started a shoe drive to collect gently used shoes for people right here in Rio de Janeiro who need them.

One step at a time, one day at a time, we're making a difference. Because, as Kid President says, heroes are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Click here to read about One Day Without Shoes of years past.
One Day Without Shoes-- 2012 Edition (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
One Day Without Shoes-- 2013 Edition (Siguatepeque, Honduras)
One Day Without Shoes-- 2014 Edition (Siguatepeque, Honduras)

One Day Without Shoes-- 2014 Edition

If I had to rank my favorite holidays, TOMS One Day Without Shoes would fall somewhere between my birthday and Thanksgiving. Probably right around the 4th of July, truthfully.

Every year TOMS hosts One Day Without Shoes to help raise awareness of the hardships faced by others throughout the world. What started as a campaign to fight against the lack of shoes has grown into a company that aides in providing shoes, glasses, and water to many people throughout the world. Their website, One for One, shows how help is distributed and in what capacities.

In my short career as I teacher, I have now facilitated One Day Without Shoes three times. I would like to say that each time has gotten better and better. This year my students and I spent exponentially more time taking about social injustices and how they can help than we have in the past. I also showed them a One Day Without Shoes promotional video and they begged me to watch it at least 10 times. Slowly but surely, thdse kiddos are learning.

As well as going without shoes for a day, the students were encouraged to bring in gently used shoes and/ or school supplies to donate to one of the local schools in town. I'm a firm believer in the notion that even the smallest person can make a difference in the life of someone else and I am desperately trying to help my kids learn this as well.

Grade Two takes their shoes off.

Grade One takes their shoes off.

 CEE takes their shoes off.

Next year will you join us? The premise is simple, the effects are profound.

One Day Without Shoes: 2013 Edition and One Day Without Shoes: 2012 Edition

One Day Without Shoes-- 2013 Edition

Potentially my favorite day of the year-- TOMS One Day Without Shoes. TOMS philosophy is simple; One for One. Every time someone buys  pair of shoes, another pair is donated to a child who needs it. There are millions of children worldwide who go without shoes everyday and who have a drastically lower quality of life because of it. By providing children with shoes, TOMS is opening doors for these children to attend school, receive an education, prevent sickness and disease, and overall change their lives.

Once a year, TOMS sponsors One Day Without Shoes where they challenge the world to go barefoot in order to raise awareness for the children are faced with this reality everyday. Awareness leads to change. And TOMS is hoping to change the lives of children one pair of shoes at a time.

I love being barefoot. I love TOMS shoes. I love One Day Without Shoes. I love sharing this love with my students. So for the second year in a row (you can read about One Day Without Shoes-- 2012 Edition here), I organized the event with my students. Which then spiraled into all of elementary school participating. Not complaining one little bit.

This year we chatted about the things that each student can do to change the lives of those around them. It can be difficult for students to see that although they are young, they still have a profound impact on people they come in contact with. As they did last year, the students blew me away at the honest and raw answers they were giving and observations they were making.

The highlight of their day was when they painted the bottoms of their feet to help create the One Day Without Shoes poster. Every student from Grade 1 to Grade 6, as well as all of the teachers and administrators, participated in the day long event and the painting.

As a teacher, it can sometimes be difficult to see how well your students are absorbing what is being taught to them. I frequently wonder if they are retaining information or if they are simply regurgitating the information that I am giving to them. Are they actually storing facts away for future use or are they only keeping them until the test?

Sometimes we are given the sign. The one that says "Yes, I am paying attention. What you are saying is registering with me and I can apply it in my life." Sometimes that sign is obvious right away, other times it doesn't become visible until later.

Grade One.

We had parent meetings on Thursday-- two days after participating in One Day Without Shoes. I had received a lot of feedback from the students about how they looooooved going barefoot, but I wasn't always confident that they understood the real reason why we were doing so. Other than the obvious fact that Miss Caitlin is just an awesome teacher and likes to do fun things. While talking with one parent though, I was able to see the effects that One Day Without Shoes had on her student. The student, Any, is in my Grade One class. Her mother was telling me that last weekend they were sorting through her closet, looking for clothes to donate and clothes to keep. Any kept saying "No, I wear that. I still love that. I still want that." Even though her mother knew those things to be untrue. Instead of engaging in an argument, she let Any keep the clothes. Any, very excitedly, came to school on Tuesday without her shoes on and proceeded to keep her shoes off the entire day. She participated in discussions, completed our activities, and had a great time. That night when she went home and said her prayers with her mother, she prayed for the children who didn't have shoes or people to take care of them when they got hurt. And after the prayer when her mom asked her again about donating her clothes, Any said "Yes. There are poor kids who need those clothes more than I do. I want to give them away."

Grade Two.

I can't speak for every child. I can't say that every child understood why they were allowed to go barefoot on April 16. But I can confidently say that we reached one child. And, as is the hope with One Day Without Shoes, that child is going to do something that changes the life of another. Thus beginning the ripple effect. 

CEE Elementary School.

One Day Without Shoes-- 2012 Edition

TOMS Shoes is a company that most people in the States are familiar with. You buy a pair of shoes and they donate a pair of shoes to someone who needs them-- One for One. Every April they have a day devoted to going without shoes in hopes of raising awareness about this global problem. Curiosity leads to questioning which leads to awareness and then change.

I incorporated this day, One Day Without Shoes, into our curriculum for the semester. I created a first grade friendly video about how there are children in other parts of the world who do not have shoes to wear and cannot go to school because of this. It was also explained how being barefoot all of the time can be dangerous. I have NEVER seen my students to focused.

They all got little flags that say "I went barefoot on One Day Without Shoes".

After watching the video we talked about service projects and how change starts with one individual using his or her talents to help others. Together we wrote thank you letters to the man who brings us snack every day and the two people who clean our classroom. I was a little worried about how these well-off first graders would do with the idea of people being so poor that they didn't have any shoes. It's a tough concept to grasp at any age and from any economic situation, but I was still nervous about it.

I had NO reason to be worried. The bulk of the lesson was on Monday, we wrote the letters on Tuesday, and went barefoot on Thursday. (It wasn't on the day that TOMS had designated as One Day Without Shoes, but that's just a minor detail.) Each day we had a brief, and I mean BRIEF, review of TOMS Shoes and their misson. These kids got it, they understood everything.

One student was absent on Monday, so she was completely lost on Tuesday when we talked about TOMS Shoes. I had her watch the video that I created during learning centers and then we talked about it afterwards. She looked at me and said "Mees Cassa, this is going to be really fun for us. But its not fun for kids who have to live without shoes everyday. I mean, its really dangerous for them." Totally blew me out of the water, I was NOT expecting that out of her.

I overheard little snippets of conversation about TOMS Shoes all week. The students would talk amongst themselves about how TOMS would donate a pair of shoes to children who need them and how lucky they are to be living where they are. Another one of my students told me this morning that he "wants to buy a million pairs of TOMS so that a million kids get shoes." I almost cried, I was SO proud of them! They got it, they really understood.