Friday, July 6, 2018

The Chromecart Key


Some days I really should stay in bed.

When I checked in for the day, I was given the lesson plans and class rosters. I was told I was in room 115, which was next door to the office. Then they called for someone to come unlock the door. (They don't have extra keys for summer school, so we subs are out of luck.)

I got in the room and started looking for the Chromecart key.

Over the last two years, Chromecarts have become ubiquitous. It's a small cart that houses 36 Chromebook computers. The Chromebooks have little slots where they live, and they can be plugged in in there. The carts have a lock on the outside, so we can keep students from borrowing a Chromebook when it's not a computer day.

I am very familiar with the Chromecarts. I have frequently locked and unlocked them.

So, when the lesson plan said "find the Chromecart key and unlock the Chromecart", I knew what to look for and I knew what to do.

Only, there was no Chromecart key. Anywhere. I looked where the lesson plan said it was, but there was nothing there.

Then I happened to look up at the door...

Room 116. I was in the wrong classroom.

I ran back to the office, asked for them to call for someone to open the correct door this time, and I headed back out to wait.

By the time the door was unlocked, I had students waiting with me. (The guy who had the key was busy doing his job, so it took him some time to get back to me. To unlock another door for me. Since I wasn't paying attention to which room I should have been in in the first place.)

We all got in the room. And the Chromecart key was exactly where the lesson plan said it should be. I went to unlock the cart...

I put the key in the lock. I turned the key. I went to press the catch to release the door... Nothing. It was still locked.

I repeated this procedure several times. There was nothing for it. The door wouldn't unlock.

So, I called the office, and I got the summer school principal. I told him of my issue, and he said he'd send someone in a few minutes.

At this point, the kiddos were getting restless. So, I attempted to explain what was going on. I offered to let the kiddos try.

And wouldn't you know it, one of the kiddos managed to get the thing open... just as an administrator arrived.

Yup, so I looked like a complete idiot in front of a class of 30, school security, and two administrators. And the day hadn't even started yet.

20 comments:

  1. You are right, some days it is better to stay in bed. But then had you on this particular day, you wouldn't have any blog fodder to share with us :)

    Got the flip-flop key chain yesterday. Love it!! It is soooo cute! Thanks again! Great service you offer with your eTSY shop!

    betty

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kids are better at getting into things since they do it all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, you're not the one who opened the wrong door. What a day, though :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ugh, what a lousy way to start your day

    ReplyDelete
  5. If it's any consolation, I would've also broken the key in the process.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The kid who opened the lock probably felt great about himself that day (and many days after) for saving the sub.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd feel the same way you did, but I hope you shared a laugh with the kids and then everyone could focus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're 9th graders, so they didn't really notice. 9th graders are a bit self-absorbed...

      Delete
  8. Sounds like Murphy had it in for you that day. Hopefully it means the rest of the week will be trouble free.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I feel for you. Hope things improved from there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yep, hopefully the day could only get better after that!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Blunder like that happen. If it were me, they'd probably happen several times a day. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, blunders happen. Glad I'm not the only one they happen to.

      Delete
  12. Hi Liz - it happens, one just feels a twit for a while ... all will be fine - enjoy the week ahead .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  13. *hugs* I've had days like that. Glad everything got sorted out. Hopefully the kid had at least a little bit of a difficult time? Or maybe they all chalked it up to you being a sub? Subs aren't expected to know how to do everything in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Subs are expected to be stupid. Sometimes that works in my favor :)

      Delete
  14. Happens to everyone, Liz. You are the only one! I can remember a similar day, when nothing from morning went right for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love these days as they can make for good blog posts ;)

      Delete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.