The Solar Eclipse: Reflections From An Educator
The recent Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024 was one of the most historic events in recent memory. Thousands of people in its path gathered with excitement to witness this event that will not be shown again in the United States for the next 20 years in 2044.
Schools and businesses were closed. People traveled to where they could get the best place to view the eclipse. The partial eclipse began at approximately 2:09 PM and totality was from 3:18 PM until about 3: 22 PM depending on where you were. It was a very cloudy day and in between the clouds you could see peaks of the eclipse. Some people were able to see it and the darkness that followed.
This columnist stood on my front porch steps and I could see some of the eclipse as the clouds moved. However, it was an exciting event and I had a good feeling when it was over. The street lights came back on it one at a time.
As an educator I felt it was good to see that science became a very important topic for adults and children alike. It was a time when it drew everyone together on one accord. This does not happen too often in this country. I could not help but think that the day after students went back to school it was probably a topic in every classroom.
As I look back on my days as a teacher I used major events like this as a spring board for teaching and as a way to increase the interest in my students in science! My goal as a teacher would be to use all kinds of tools to do this such as discussion in small groups, language arts that would include various modes of writing including poetry and journal writing, artwork, research and the computer to engage students.
I taught at the Campus West school for the last 25 years of my career. Campus West was located on the campus of Buffalo State College at the time. I often planned walking field trips to the Planetarium. My students could see the planets and learn more about the sun and the moon. We also made a pinhole camera that could be used to see eclipses. I still have a sample of one.
To extend the knowledge of my students I took courses at the Buffalo Museum of Science during the summer. I took courses in astronomy, electricity, and the ecosystem. At the end of the summer, the teachers who were enrolled received a science kit. These science kits came with materials to use in the classroom during our lessons. I had a problem with the ecosystem kit course because I had to order crickets and bugs.
Each student had to create a terrarium to show the relationship between living things. Well, one of the funniest things that happened was I dropped the box with the crickets and they scattered across the room. I never will forget this. A teacher named Ms. Carroll came to my classroom and with the help of the students we gathered as many of the crickets as possible. Each student created a terrarium out of empty pop bottles. I did whatever it took to interest my students in science. These were teachable moments. The solar eclipse was certainly one of those moments for our students!!