SHOLEH: Lessons from the sticker lady

My sister is the sticker lady, aka the sticker queen — or in normal parlance, a substitute teacher in local public schools, given these monikers by high school students who go ga-ga for her stickers.

The younger kids, not so much.

Think about that for a moment: Children still aged within sticker-manufacturers’ target market reacted with a “meh.” Older teens? Gimme!

I found that worth pondering.

You see, she likes to hand them out as little rewards. For finishing an assignment, staying in seats, good behavior — whatever. “Get it done, and you can have a sticker.”

I’d have thought that wouldn’t work by the time a kid reaches 15, but I’ve been proven wrong.

And I’m not talking images of sports, music or trendy themes normally associated with teenagers. For a while last year, the surplus sticker stash included a thick book of flowers, unicorns, adorable-looking and plump-faced animals — sweet stuff. Unicorns, it turned out, were quite sought after.

On average, the high school students went for them all. The middle school kids were less impressed (exceptions to both, of course).

Picture otherwise cool, chill, perhaps athletic teenagers with stickers on their faces, gathering for selfies and admiring the look.

True story. (And a unique reminder that teens yet possess tender hearts, which we older folks often overlook.)

Why the ostensible age switcheroo?

OK, maybe around middle school — those years past mommy-clinging but not close to adulthood in the cloud of confusion we call puberty — kids are trying hard not to act like kids. Perception is everything, so stickers may represent what ‘tweens are determined to shed.

But why would the ones old enough to drive get into it more, even playfully bickering over who gets what?

I wondered: Are stickers reminiscent of days gone by, when we were young and got rewarded for the small things? Everyone, at every age, likes positive feedback. As we get older, we get less and less of it. Yes, maturity means self-assurance and less maintenance (ideally), but that doesn’t mean human nature really changes.

We still like getting rewarded. It feels good.

Maybe stickers are like adhesive pats on the back. A cheap, easy way to bring a smile to an age group in which such efforts tend to be minimal. Could it be that simple? Or maybe it’s just fun to feel like a little kid again for a few minutes.

It’s the little things that make a day. Perhaps the lesson the sticker lady can teach us is that we could all use more of the little things.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who never really got into stickers. Email Sholeh@cdapress.com.