"Do you have a minute?" a teacher across the hall asked me this morning when I was subbing. We were standing outside our doors as the students arrived, which is the expectation for staff. I did not have a homeroom assignment, so I had more than a minute.
"Sure, what's up?" I replied.
"This student needs help with her locker," he told me.
"Oh boy!" I said gleefully, because teaching sixth graders how to open their lockers was always one of my favorite parts of the beginning of the year. (I also thought of my recently retired friend, Mary, who told me just yesterday that helping kids with their lockers was one of the things she absolutely did not miss.) "I'd love to help! Take me to your locker."
She gave me a curt nod and, with an anxious expression, turned and walked away, her backpack slung over one shoulder. I caught up to her, and as we threaded our way through the crowded halls to the even more crowded locker area, I tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry!" I boasted. "I've taught hundreds of kids to open their lockers! Maybe even a thousand."
She looked at me skeptically.
"No! Really!" I said. "I used to work here. I taught sixth grade for over 30 years. I have a very high success rate!" I laughed, but she didn't crack a smile. "I predict you will be able to open your lock in less than 10 minutes," I added confidently. "What do you think?"
She raised an eyebrow. "No," she answered.
She handed me the combination, and I removed the padlock. Then we stepped to a quiet place along the wall, where I snapped the lock closed and gave it to her. I talked her through the process once, twice, and then again. I reminded her to turn the dial slowly, reverse directions, and spin it clockwise a few times and start again if she messed up.
When she had opened it successfully four times, she looked up. "I've got it now," she said, walking back to her locker. "Thanks," she tossed the word over her shoulder.
"Yasssss!" I said to myself. "Make that a thousand AND one!"
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