Through The Looking Glass

 There is an entire episode of Seinfeld that deals with the vague but pervasive notion that when you are inside your own car that you somehow become invisible. If you are familiar with the plaintive cry, "That was no pick!" then you probably don't need any further discussion on this topic. If you didn't catch that show or weren't a big fan, let me elucidate slightly. Sometimes, when we feel we are alone, we do things that we would never do in public. "Dance like no one is watching," begins to scratch the surface, but "sing like no one can hear you," or "pick your nose like no one is looking," is really more to the point. It is only the moment where you make eye contact with that person outside your bubble that suddenly this reality becomes so painfully clear. 

I bring this up because one of my colleagues who teaches a fourth/fifth grade split class mentioned that she has a phrase that she repeats at least a couple times each day to her students: "It's a camera, not a mirror." By this she hopes to remind her little charges that everyone else in the Zoom meeting can see exactly what he or she is doing in front of that camera that is not a mirror. It's not simply a matter of attention. There are plenty of students who need a reminder that even though they are "at school," they still need to pull the covers off their head and attempt to sit up straight to create the illusion of learning. Please understand, I hold our teachers and students in the highest of esteem for continuing to trudge through this grand experiment we call "distance learning." This goes double for the parents and caregivers of those students who have been thrust into a situation for which they were never trained or enlisted. 

That being said, it is still quite an awakening for some to realize the presence of a live video feed from their kitchen or living room can be a little obtrusive. And for those five to eleven year olds who are lucky enough to have their own rooms, there is still a wide gulf between what is public and what is private. That could be as simple as knowing when to hit the mute button, like when mom and dad are just outside the door having a loud discussion about finances or fidelity or both. And for those fourth and fifth graders who are just coming into the experience of their personal appearance, that face looking back at them from their screen provides them with endless opportunities to shape and reshape their image. 

While others watch. What I am suggesting here is that Zoom does not always allow for that flash of recognition as you find yourself up to the third digit in nasal insertion. We aren't always aware that we are appearing in other people's living rooms with our own realities hanging out for everyone to see. 

And especially not when you're ten.