August 21 marked the day of the solar eclipse.  For some, this could honestly be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  LPS got in on the phenomenon, having students all across the district witness the space-tastic event.  

Yet, the question comes down to, was the event handled in the right manner?  

Days before the eclipse had occurred, LPS had teachers prep students for the disappearance of our sun.  At East High, the prep encouraged a swell of excitement for the day, so when August 21 arrived, the hype was up.  

While the hype was up, the day dragged.  The partial eclipse had officially started around 11, 12 o’clock; in which students did not have the opportunity to see the moon and sun start their little dance.  Instead, students were kept on hold up until around fifteen to ten minutes before totality.  

The real problem with all of this is that all of the hype that was made for the minute of totality and the few seconds of seeing the diamond ring appear on the opposite side of the moon.   

After the diamond ring appeared, students were hauled off back to the sixth period class to continue business as normal.  

Was this truly enough time for this monumental event?  Is 20 minutes proportional to an almost three to four hour event?

No, it really isn’t.  The science phenomena is not only the totality, it’s the entire process of the moon coming in front of the sun.  From partial eclipse, to total and back to partial.  Students only had a chance to grasp the significance of one third of the eclipse, missing out on the other two.  

LPS did an overall great job at engaging students and picking up hype– although carried out in an anticlimactic manner– dropped the ball on a chance that would have allowed students to learn from the forces that pull this Earth together.