ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that teachers need to keep many larger structures and routines consistent because students find safety in predictability. Repetition in the form of layers and threads yields a kind of continuity or even security to students. Many who write about art, aesthetics, design, and architecture argue that unity is achieved through the right combination of repetition and variety. The film character Ditto is an easy target for anyone wanting to flag the dangers of repetition. Every educator faces the challenge of how to balance repetition and variety. Combined correctly, the three elements—repetition, variety, contrast—can increase unity. The dual corollary argument of course is that students and teachers get bored without variety, but that variety should not be endless. Graduating teachers have heard a thousand times that they must employ a variety of learning and teaching strategies or students will become bored and disengaged.
