“Guess Who?”
“As my next class filters into the room, the routine is all-too-familiar: the first student kindly splatters sanitizer on all the desks, while the others sanitize their hands, grab paper towels, then clean their workspace.
Their dedication to cleanliness has been remarkable and largely unwavering, even after months of similar routines in all their classes.
I remove my mask, thankful for the freedom to do-so when instructing from the front of the room. This has saved the students from hours of Charlie Brown teacher noises when reading Hamlet, which needs no further complication beyond its already-challenging Elizabethan English.
“Good afternoon everyone! How are we doing today?” I survey the class; many students nod and offer a thumbs-up, while others respond in muffled facemask tones, “Good Ms. P –you?”
“I’m doing pretty well today. Absolutely thrilled of course to keep reading Hamlet…” I pause for effect, giving the class an opportunity to roll their eyes, although to be honest, this group is scarily academic.
“Alright then, let’s decide on readers. We’re tackling Act 2 Scene 2 so I need Polonius, Reynaldo, and Ophelia. Any volunteers?” The hands pop-up quickly as do voices not connected to hands.
“I’ll be Polonius!”
I glance around the room in search of the voice’s owner, “Was that you Cameron?””