LOCAL FEATURE ALL OF THE SUPPLIES AND FABRIC USED TO MAKE SHOES ARE DONATED BY THE PUBLIC. CREDIT: CAT EVANS RESURRECTION OF THE SOLE: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO EDUCATION BY CAT EVANS FOOTWEAR IN THE UNITED STATES is a multibillion-dollar industry. The powerhouse market has seamlessly generated a major influential gateway into the minds of American youth and culture. Chris Hunt, a teacher at William Smith High School (WSHS), is no stranger to the impact of sneaker culture on his students. William Smith is a Project-Based Learning (PBL) school located in Aurora, Colo. According to the PBL website, this means it uses “methods of teaching in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.” Although WSHS is a member of Aurora Public Schools, Hunt points out the differences in the standard curriculum for a PBL school. “The classic approach to public education is taking a standard and supplying the class to meet the standard,” Hunt said. “The difference with PBL is we can teach whatever, as long as we are meeting those standards. We have to be very intentional about how we are getting those standards into the curriculum.” It’s a common method in academia to simply purchase CHRIS HUNT WORKS ALONGSIDE STUDENTS, AS THEY LEARN THE CRAFT OF SHOEMAKING. CREDIT: CAT EVANS preset curriculums, exercise through said curriculums, and once students fulfill that curriculum, all standards should be met. William Smith chose a more creative route to teaching. One of Hunt’s personal contributions to WSHS, which includes classes like jewelry making, screen printing, and sewing, is a shoemaking class. The class is one of the most sought-after classes in the school. Hunt reminds the students it’s their choice to be there, they are in the class of their own volition, “The students sign up for the class, for me, it’s already leverage, I let them know we are doing fun stuff, not digging ditches,” said Hunt. In this specific class, the students recreate their own version of Nike sneakers from scratch. That includes all assembling from the sole up. They sew together different fabrics and materials, step by step, in anticipation of the final reveal. At the end of the project, students will have an opportunity to show their final result via a fashion showlike event. From a legal standpoint, there is no issue in recreating these — including the Nike logo — so long as no money is made off the shoes themselves. Nike customizations can be controversial. In the modern shoe market, it is common to sell custom Nikes for large profits and then quietly pocket the profits. For William Smith students, this is of no concern. The key focus is skill development, creative control, and autonomous execution. By learning the trade 6 DENVER VOICE January 2023
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