Page 28 - Whoos A. Fraid

In the next section of the story, Fraid does not want to accompany his class for a night exercise. “But I don’t like the night, it is dark. It has lots of shadows and strange noises. I don’t want to do this. You are just being mean to me.”
In the story, Fraid is refusing to learn a task (staying out at night) that is obviously important for owls. But the same can be said for learning any new task, from math to reading out loud. We can all make ourselves fearful of any task, even those that can cause us no physical harm or will be necessary for our success and happiness later in life.
It is at this point in the story that you see Fraid’s (and our) strategy to get out of his dilemma. He tries to get other young owls to agree with him. With agreement comes justification. If others are also uncomfortable or afraid then I must be correct to not want to do this task. This is the tried and true “birds of a feather” strategy. If I can surround myself with others who agree with my beliefs (no matter how obviously incorrect they may be) then I don’t have to evaluate my beliefs or change them.
But Fraid’s teacher, Whoos D. Smartest, is familiar with this strategy and insists that Fraid stay out all night regardless of his complaining or how many agree he gets to agree with him. As is often the case, the only way to get over an unnecessary fear is to confront it. Far too often, parents will expect a teacher to exempt their child from doing something because it causes anxiety (fear). They are often unable to bring themselves to accept that the task is necessary and the discomfort (though real) can be tolerated and overcome. The narrator, Cosmos Crow points out how important a lesson Smartest was trying to teach all the young owls.
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