When I first heard about the upcoming solar eclipse, I was very excited. Although not in my specific field of study, I am a scientist, and eclipses do not happen often. I also remembered being in elementary school many (many) years ago and feeling disappointed when we were not allowed to go outside (even though it was our recess time!) to see the eclipse for fear that we would damage our eyes. I became even more excited about the eclipse when I realized that my parents in southwest Virginia live within driving distance of the zone of totality. The percentage of coverage visible from our home in Fort Worth, TX would be a disappointing 75%.
As I started making plans for my family to see the eclipse, I came to a horrifying realization…August 21 is also the first day of the new school year for my 2nd and 3rd grade sons. I take school attendance VERY seriously (and I have several school perfect attendance awards myself to prove it). In addition, my older son receives special education services, and I am particularly vigilant about getting him to school because of his severe academic difficulty. To make matters worse, I am currently running for the Texas State Board of Education, so purposely keeping my children out of school could even be used as a campaign issue against me.
So here is what I decided…my kids are going to miss the first day of school this year. I believe that this experience will be one that my kids will remember for the rest of their lives, and we are lucky not to have to worry about finding a hotel room. When speaking with my son’s new teacher yesterday, I also found out that the students will not be allowed to go outside during the eclipse because of fears related to potentially counterfeit glasses.
Science is awesome, and I love immersing kids in it! I also plan to use this opportunity to talk with my sons about how an eclipse happens as well as how people reacted in the past when they did not understand eclipses. Because their classmates will not have the chance to directly see the eclipse during school, I also hope that they will get to talk about their experience when they are back at school on Tuesday.
Now, let’s just hope that it isn’t cloudy…