6th Grade Transition: Part 2 in a Series - Lockers!

So, if you want to see a brand new 6th grader cry the first week of school, send them to a locker they have never opened and have them open it under pressure. This was the scene my first year as an assistant principal in 2003, that first day of school, when all of the new 6th graders were opening their lockers. The first meltdown happened in the first few seconds, and then it was like a house of cards: one child after another reduced to tears by unresponsive lockers. Honestly, at the time, it overwhelmed me and made me question why I had ever gone back to middle school.

Especially in the first weeks of school, nothing can derail a sixth grader’s momentum faster than their locker. It did not take me long, though, to figure out the solution. I can't emphasize this one enough (and I am not writing this in the same tone Allen Iverson once uttered these words): "We're talkin' 'bout practice!"

Yes, it's that simple. Buy a combination lock. It's a $5 investment that will pay huge emotional dividends. Make your child practice until they can do it without fail. Then put them on a timer (10 times in 1 minute). Then stand side by side with your spouse or another person and have your child try to force themselves between you in order open the lock, select specific items from a messy pile to take with them while you both jostle him side to side, close the lock and get to the other side of the house in a specific time frame.

If you remember class changes when you were in school, then you know it’s not just about the combination; it’s also about time pressure, crowds, and remembering what you need.

And, don't overlook the fact that 6th graders will have not one, but two locker combinations to remember. Yes, they will have a different lock with a different combination in PE. It is not too much of a stretch to practice this as well. When a student arrives in PE they must open their small locker, retrieve their PE uniform, change into it, then place their books and school clothes in a large locker and lock them up. Again, this must be done under time pressure and in a crowd. Could you simulate this at home? I don't see why not.

Getting them open isn't the only issue with lockers, though I will address the others in more detail in a later post. Once those lockers are opening and closing with ease, then it's time to be concerned about what is going into them, and the condition those things will remain in. More on this when I address organization.

Here are a couple of other things to remember, and to remind your child of:

1. Ask an adult - if the locker is not working, instead of panicking, go see an adult. Every

person in the building wants the kids to succeed, and we deal with sixth graders every

year. An adult will help, and will not make a kid feel foolish for asking. We do this all the

time!

2. Keep it in perspective - I had a parent tell me once that her child's whole middle school

experience had been ruined by her negative experiences with her locker. Honestly, I think

this is absurd. Setbacks are part of life, and we learn from them and move on. When it

comes to lockers, the solution is there. If your child comes home upset, comfort her,

encourage her to speak to an adult and be a self advocate, and send her back into the

game. If she is shy about stepping forward, help out by making a call or sending an email.

We will help.

The locker pressure is intense, but it is short term. When we re-assembled the 6th graders for some mid-year reminders, those locker issues were long forgotten. But while they are happening in the first weeks of school, in the mind of an 11 year old they are potentially earth-shattering. Practice before the beginning of school will help keep their world in one piece when it's go time.