While I was reading The Globe and Mail (Canada’s National Newspaper®) over breakfast this morning, I felt a little bit guilty for thinking about this thread while reading a story about a young woman in Ontario who was followed home from a club and killed Friday night.
This is an interesting thread. I’m Canadian and if I were ever told “Oh, don’t bother removing your shoes,” as I started to take them off, I’d honestly assume we were doing some version of the “Politeness Dance” and slip 'em off anyway with an “Oh, don’t worry, I don’t mind.” I had absolutely no idea that I could be offending my host. I’m glad I read this thread – next time I’m down south I’ll remember to ask first.
Isn’t this done in the northern States? Having indoor shoes in schools seems like it would be a necessity in any cold climate because of safety concerns. Students coming in from the snow leave behind huuuge puddles of water in the corridors, and the janitors have to run the floor cleaners after lunch and recess or else risk having the kids slipping and falling. I never really thought about it before, but one of the children I work with uses a walker because of her CP and she also changes her shoes before she goes in the classroom even though it takes her a little longer to do so. If it were too difficult for her to manage on her own, I imagine that her EA would be asked either to help her change her shoes or to dry off her treads.
I prefer zombies keep their shoes on, I don’t need their feet decomposing all over my carpet and hardwood floors. It’s bad enough having a five-year-old already.