Teacher Annoyed Her School Is Not Closing For The Total Eclipse — 'Karma Will Take Care Of Them'
She pointed out that other teachers have already made preparations to not show up on the day of the eclipse.
Stocker plus / Shutterstock Many people are anticipating and gearing up to watch the total solar eclipse, which is set to happen on April 8, 2024, and won't be seen again until August 23, 2044.
According to NASA, the total solar eclipse will be visible throughout the entire contiguous United States, with the path of totality running from Texas to Maine.
It's an exciting time, but not for one teacher, who admitted in a Reddit post that she was really hoping for a day off from work. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be something that will cause children to miss out on a day of learning, despite her concerns.
A teacher admitted that she's annoyed her school won't be closed for the total solar eclipse.
Posting to the subreddit "r/Teachers," she explained that the school district she works for is in the path of totality, meaning many people will be traveling from nearby and probably even farther to get a glimpse of the eclipse during this upcoming weekend. She noticed that currently, there are already over a hundred requests from teachers for substitutes because they won't be coming in for instruction.
Photo: LeoPatrizi / Canva Pro
"My district decided to make April 10 a PD day, so they won't cancel school on eclipse day," she wrote in her post, adding that parents will have to sign a waiver to allow their children to see it. "They emailed us saying they already bought the entire district eclipse glasses and have a designated time of the day for everyone to go outside and watch it."
The eclipse offers an educational opportunity for the children to participate in a historical event.
It's a chance for the students to experience a more hands-on learning experience instead of reading and watching videos of past total solar eclipses, which may not capture the same sense of wonder and awe as witnessing the event live.
However, this teacher is adamant that the school district should've still canceled school. She argued that since so many teachers have already called out and most likely won't show up, there won't be enough substitute teachers to fill the classrooms.
As a solution, she anticipated that the school would have to combine classes and find people to watch the students whose parents weren't able to fill out waivers while everyone else went outside to watch the solar eclipse.
"The thing is, they could've canceled school. They purposely added extra minutes to the school day, plus extra days, so they wouldn't have to make up for bad weather/phenomenons," she added. "Karma will take care of them."
Most small towns are going to be overrun with people coming to see the total eclipse.
While this teacher doesn't mention if she's living in a small town or not, judging by the fact that she's in the path of totality, there will most likely be hoards of people traveling to get a good view of the event, which can cause a bit of disturbance for the people already residing there.
According to The Washington Post, county officials in places like Bandera County, Texas, have been planning for the eclipse and the hundreds of people that will be visiting for the last three years. Since Bandera County falls within the path of totality, the town with a population of 24,000 people will have to figure out how to accommodate an influx of tourists and their cars.
"In October [2023], we did a trial run of what we're going to do in April [2024], and at all of the major intersections, we put deputies to direct traffic when needed," Jack Moseley, a county commissioner told the news outlet.
The last solar eclipse, which happened in August 2017, caused other small towns, like Weiser, Idaho, to anticipate the hundreds of new guests. According to the Guardian, the town was expected to serve a crowd that could reach 70,000. The tourism department advised travelers to "make plans to be part of this amazing experience," while the transportation agency warned that hundreds of thousands of people were expected to descend on the state.
Visitors were cautioned to bring paper maps and lots of water, make sure their gas tanks were full, and be aware of accidental fires.
Due to all of the anticipated disruptions, it's no wonder that this teacher is upset that the schools won't be closed, especially when other educators are already making plans to be out for that day. As these communities prepare for the influx of upcoming challenges, maybe local officials should listen to the concerns of educators and residents alike, considering the impact of this significant event.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.