Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it would be crazy to close early. Kids will be unsupervised on buses and walking home and may not have eclipse glasses.

This.

I'm an MCPS teacher. I'd love to take my kids outside to see it, but logistically, with 25 kids, even if I bought them all glasses, there's no way I could make sure they all view it safely. So, we'll be staying inside getting ready for dismissal.

Anonymous wrote:About as likely as preventing an unpowered ship the size of the Eiffel Tower from hitting a bridge pylon - MCPS reacts with similar speed and accuracy.

Nailed it! 🔨

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this an April Fool's post, and if so, who is the fool?

Have you seen how MCPS makes decisions? It wouldn't be surprising if they announced Friday that it's an early release day.

Friday? That would be planning on advance and we all know that won't happen. Probably at 10am Monday the same day they will announce "early release out of abundance of caution" BS.

I don’t think it would be crazy to close early. Kids will be unsupervised on buses and walking home and may not have eclipse glasses.

Anonymous wrote:Have they ever closed schools in the past for an eclipse?

The last eclipse was in 2017 and it was in the summer so school was closed anyway.

I went to MCPS as a kid in the 80's. We built contraptions out of shoeboxes and a pinhole to "watch it" (via shadow) on our boxes, so we were outside for it.

My hometown, which is in the path of totality, is closing schools for that day but it makes sense for them.

MCPS who isn't even in path of totality? Zero sense to close. It's going to happen around 3:20, so high school and middle school students will be done for the day, elementary school students, well I guess they can leave school a few minutes early to see it.

Plus, it's not like there will be tons of tourists flocking to MoCo to see 88% eclipse so we don't have to contend with eclipse traffic.

Anonymous wrote:Schools across the country are considering this. Stop looking for reasons to blast MCPS.

Parents proving time and time again that school is strictly babysitting for them. Aren’t even hiding it. If we were going to experience totality, they’d still make excuses for MCPS not prioritizing education, meanwhile their kids are missing once in a lifetime opportunities. It’s a total joke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:During the last eclipse, teachers kept the classroom inside the entire time because inevitably there will be at least one student who will try to look directly at it, given all the buzz. I thought the school handled it well.

I remember as a kid there was an eclipse and there was all this hype, and we saw pictures and talked about it. But then the day came and they pulled down the shades and canceled recess and told us not to look outside. It was so disappointing (though somewhat understandable now, and those glasses weren't readily available then...)

Anonymous wrote:Is this an April Fool's post, and if so, who is the fool?

Have you seen how MCPS makes decisions? It wouldn't be surprising if they announced Friday that it's an early release day.

Anonymous wrote:During the last eclipse, teachers kept the classroom inside the entire time because inevitably there will be at least one student who will try to look directly at it, given all the buzz. I thought the school handled it well.

During the last eclipse, teachers kept the classroom inside the entire time because inevitably there will be at least one student who will try to look directly at it, given all the buzz. I thought the school handled it well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools across the country are considering this. Stop looking for reasons to blast MCPS.

If it was during school hours it would be easy just to keep all the kids inside if they're concerned about children damaging their retinas but since it's happening during dismissal, all you need is one kid too hurt their eyes and then the parents can sue

People can sue for anything. Whether they have a case is a different matter.

Anonymous wrote:Schools across the country are considering this. Stop looking for reasons to blast MCPS.

If it was during school hours it would be easy just to keep all the kids inside if they're concerned about children damaging their retinas but since it's happening during dismissal, all you need is one kid too hurt their eyes and then the parents can sue

I'm not sure I understand closing even if you are in the totality. What an amazing science lesson.