Friday is 'Scare Your Teacher in Online Class Day'

Ottawacker Jr. has been somewhat reticent to join in the full-class Zoom meets organised by his teacher: he finds them too loud and he doesn’t get the chance to say anything. I know exactly what he means. I used to work in the government, and any meetings where there were more than three people present were a sure way of getting nothing or of being ignored. But it looks like Ottawacker Jr.’s teacher may have stumbled on a way to coax him into these classes: fancy dress.
 
I used to suspect that the reason there were so many “Dress-Up Fridays” in Ottawacker Jr.’s school was that the teacher herself rather enjoyed it. Now I am beginning to suspect there may be method in her madness. For a full hour before the scheduled online class, he had dug out last year’s Halloween costume and was practising his scare techniques: jumping out from behind curtains; appearing behind his mother when she was looking for something in the kitchen; opening the door very slowly and imitating its squeak. Oh the fun we had.
 
Anyway, it turns out that noise is fine when 25 kids wearing masks are making it simultaneously, and he is already looking forward to the next Zoom meet.