from Chris
It’s been a “boots on” week for me. That’s my version of “game on” or “being ready to rumble.” I own a pair of cowboy boots—something I earned honestly because my daughter’s been a horse owner for a decade and a half—and I get them out when it’s time to get down to business.
This week marked the start of my nineteenth year teaching writing at St. Bonaventure University in western New York. I always wear my boots on the first day of class. I do it because, well, it’s time to get down to business.
I wear them, too, because I love the sound of my bootheels on the tile floors in the building where I teach. That clunking sounds encourages me to slow down, take it easy, mosey along. And as I tell my students, that’s exactly the point when it comes to writing: you need to take your time. If you rush, you make mistakes. If you slow down, you can see what you’re doing more clearly—and your writing gets better, richer, and more detailed.
Because Jennifer and I had a baby a year and a half ago, I’ve been teaching online for the last three semesters, which lets me stay in Virginia and still teach in New York. This fall, I decided to get back into the classroom a little, so I’m teaching a hybrid class: I’m in the classroom one day every two weeks, with online work during the other sessions. Writing instruction lends itself to the online environment because it’s a lot of one-on-one attention, but I have missed the face-to-face interaction with my students. This semester’s arrangement will give me some of that back.
And it gives me a chance to wear my boots!