WACO, Texas — Several school districts across Central Texas have made the decision to cancel classes on April 8, the day of the total solar eclipse, however, educators are ensuring their students are prepared and informed when it comes to the phenomenon so they can understand it safely from wherever they are on eclipse day.
Baylor University School of Education hosted a training opportunity on Thursday, Feb. 8 exclusively for Baylor educators, whether they're students, staff or faculty. It was an opportunity to prepare educators to teach others, especially children, about the upcoming total solar eclipse.
"This is an opportunity to understand the awe and the wonder of this event and I want to give everybody in the school of education the opportunity to do what we do best, which is educate others," said Dr. Suzanne Nesmith, an Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the School of Education and Associate Professor in Science Education at Baylor.
Nesmith said she wants to ensure Baylor education students have the tools and resources they need to create appropriate lesson plans and present the subject matter to prekindergarten through high school students before the eclipse on Monday, April 8.
"A textbook can only cover so much and no true understanding is ever going to occur with a textbook," Nesmith explained. "You have to actually experience it. You have to have a teacher who is prepared and who is excited about it and that's what's going to build understanding and excitement in others."
The event at Baylor's Hurd Welcome Center had around 400 attendees. After dinner, information videos were played and group activities happened, some of which could be passed on to educator's students.
Alan Small, Mayborn Museum STEM Coordinator, helped facilitate the event. He's been on a tour around Central Texas to ensure people are educated about the total solar eclipse.
"Teaching about space and outer space, things like that is a lot of fun, but it can be tricky if you don't have something that a student can experience firsthand," Small said. "This is an opportunity for teachers to share something really happening in real-time with their students. It's also an uncommon event. We haven't had one here since the 1800s. And after April 8, we won't have another one for 400 years."
Small said he looks forward to events like this because people get more excited about the eclipse. He wants people to understand how rare the event will be on April 8 and how it shouldn't be missed.
"If you skip it this time, you'll either not have a chance in your lifetime or you'll have to travel to some other part of Earth sometime in the future," Small added. "I encourage people to take advantage of this chance while it's showing up at your front door."
After the event, Baylor education majors are feeling more prepared too.
"I'm hoping to learn more about the best way of explaining the eclipse to younger kids because like I can tell you what it is in college terms, but I don't really know how to turn it down to their level," said Ziyana Keshavjee, a senior at Baylor who is also a student-teacher in the Central Texas area. "We can be equipped to help educate our students, prepare them for what's going to happen, teach them the safety and how to correctly view the eclipse."
Keshavjee hasn't talked about the eclipse with her students yet, but she said she will soon to ensure they get to experience it to its full potential, safely and while still having fun.
"I think that they're going to be really happy to learn and know what they're seeing when the eclipse happens," Keshavjee said.
If you are interested in educational eclipse resources, Baylor University is providing some to the public for free. Click here to access them.
For more eclipse coverage, visit KCENTV.com/eclipse.
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