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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell DD's school that if they won't let her watch the solar eclipse, I'll keep her home until its over?

270 replies

listsandbudgets · 11/03/2015 23:21

I asked today what they were doing about it and the head said they were just carrying on as normal.

I want DD to see it. DD is desperate to see it. Its 90% here so worth seeing. We can easily make a pin hole projector though I will try to get some eye protection.

AIBU?

OP posts:
Longworth · 18/03/2015 15:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Icimoi · 18/03/2015 15:21

Something tells me there's a degree of profiteering going on - www.amazon.co.uk/Eclipse-Glasses-Approved-Filters-Shades/dp/B00UHXUKKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426691924&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+eclipse+glasses .

£11.99 for a pair of cardboard sunglasses! I bet they'll be an awful lot cheaper on Friday afternoon.

antumbra · 18/03/2015 15:22

So don't buy them then.

LaChatte · 18/03/2015 16:34

I'm a teacher (in France), we've just recieved an email from the head saying that we are to confine all the pupils to the classroom for the entire duration of the eclipse, and that they would be closing all the shutters for two hours in case thay're tempted to look out the window. I'm so sad about it, the kids are old enough to understand why they mustn't look directly at the sun, and all more than capable of making pinhole projectors.

antumbra · 18/03/2015 16:46

I am letting my kids pull a sickie.

It's too important to miss.

Aubrianna · 18/03/2015 16:53

My dcs school is watching with pinhole cameras. I am going to walk slowly and miss my early train so I can see it (otherwise I am underground for most of it!)

Weirdly I don't remember at all the 1999 one even though I was 16....

BeCool · 18/03/2015 16:57

LaChatte that is really sad!

Yesterday my 3 yo gave me a wonderful lecture on "how to watch the eclipse safely and what will happen to you if you don't".

BeCool · 18/03/2015 17:03

ErmNo - our HT has managed all of that he needs to. I guess it balances out with the eclipse being a learning experience, a massive shared experience, the opportunity to see science and the natural world in action etc etc etc.

Also our (council) school has an above average amount of free school dinner and EFL pupils. And yet still we manage it fairly easily.

ChristyMooreRocks · 18/03/2015 17:03

My school have said that we are definitely not taking the kids outside to see it. Before school starts it is completely the parents responsibility what they do, even if its on school grounds, but we won't be letting them look. It's jus too risky, with the risks of glasses getting scratched, kids taking them off, it would just be a nightmare. I think we are going to have it on a webcam in the classroom instead.

It is a shame, but it really isn't as easy as 'yes let's take the whole school outside for this wonderful learning opportunity'.

m0therofdragons · 18/03/2015 17:09

I only found out about it from dd's school which is dedicating the day to it. I'd keep dd home then take her to school later. How old is dd? Just curious - my answer would be the same unless she had a GCSE mock maybe x

Archfarchnad · 18/03/2015 18:21

We're in northern Germany, and we're only getting about 75% here (Britain is nearer the total zone). But the local shops have totally 'forgotten' to get in any glasses (ie they couldn't be arsed for one day) and the few that are available are going for silly prices on e-bay. So although DDs's school have said they're prepared to take any kids out into the playground who come to school with proper glasses, that's not going to be many people.

We have a very different problem for DD1 - she's going to be flying from Germany to Gatwick for the exact period of the eclipse (school trip) so there will definitely be no cloud cover and precious little to distract them - but as we have no glasses I'm trying to convince her at the moment just how dangerous it would be to even sneak a look out of the window. Sadly, teenagers are not very good at taking their parents' advice. I'm sort of hoping the pilot is going to be issuing strict warnings over the tannoy - presumably the airline doesn't want to be dealing with a plane full of blinded passengers. Although actually it's Ryanair, so perhaps they don't give a shit.

Someone upthread mentioned the potential problem of blackouts being caused in areas that have a lot of solar power. In Germany it makes up 26% of the total power supply, which worried me sufficiently to check what the experts say. It seems the problem is not the two hours with reduced light input (after all, we cope fine with dark every night without the system breaking down) - it's the fact that the light levels are changing so quickly, particularly the point at midday when the light start increasing again very quickly. There is a danger at this point that the solar panels/generators will get overloaded by the sudden increase and become unstable, and nobody quite knows what will happen then because the last time there was a solar eclipse there was much less solar provision. However, apparently scientists have been working on the models for months now and they seem confident the system can cope - at least in Germany.

funkybuddah · 18/03/2015 19:27

My dds infant school is taking them outside to watch with safe methods. If they weren't I'd keep her home. ds has an inset from seniors so not an issue

EbwyIsUpTheDuff · 19/03/2015 09:51

my son's school is going to send a letter home tonight (according to his teacher this morning) saying that IF they have their own eclipse glasses they can go outside to watch.

Where the hell are several hundred kids in a very small town supposed to get eclipse glasses by tomorrow??

I'm going to be on route to an unavoidable hospital appointment or I'd keep him home :(

fifisquidpigeon · 19/03/2015 11:12

My children must be the lucky ones, their school has offered two registration times so you can either keep them at home to see it and go in afterwards or take them in at the usual time and they will watch it on TV! We've opted for staying at home (not least so my morning can be less fraught).

ItIsNoneOfYourBusiness · 19/03/2015 11:21

Not at all! I was going to keep DS off. But he came home with a letter saying the entire school will be observing it. A few will have the opportunity to wear glasses, the rest will be using a pin hole viewer.

IMO this is educational, it is science. And as has been pointed out already, it's gonna be dark in the morning, kids will be confused if they are 'kept in the dark' about it.

It is very, very important that our children see it.

SharkSwimmer · 19/03/2015 11:23

I ran a summer play scheme during August 1999 and I remember having a lot of parents wanting their children to observe the eclipse and lots who wanted their children as far away as possible. As a mum and a teacher I will be making a thing of it tomorrow but it comes down to individual heads, teachers and parents. It's one of those situations where whatever you do someone will be unhappy.

scrapaddict · 19/03/2015 11:49

Lots of parents are going to take their kids in late it seems - good choice

sleeponeday · 19/03/2015 12:22

My son's (primary) aren't only setting up a safe watching system for the school in the playground, they've invited the parents along to join them as they see it as being something families should share, too. Then they are teaching them about it for the rest of the day.

My son's school is amazing.

SeraOfeliaFalfurrias · 19/03/2015 12:22

Depressingly, the weather here is predicted to be cloudy as fuck. Grrrrr.....

futtle · 19/03/2015 12:25

Blimey, my daughter's school have got the kids so excited about it she was begging me to let her have permission to see the "sun and moon"! (They sent out letters saying we could withdraw permission on health and safety grounds although they'd have pinhole projectors etc and would be perfectly safe). Of course she's allowed to see it and I'd be gutted if she didn't. YANBU - keep her home.

Kayvp · 19/03/2015 13:07

Yep I'm keeping my DD at home. Think the alarm clock might not work tomorrow ??

Franmat · 19/03/2015 13:33

My son's school is taking them all outside to the playground to see it - and they're providing the eye protection. (They've even provided the spec of the specs in case any parents were concerned.) Have to say, I was impressed.

averythinline · 19/03/2015 13:43

Hysterically ds school not going to watch even though science topic this term is space (again) as reception class is doing their assembly on ......space Grin I am keeping ds home we are making pinhole camera tonight....he/we are v excited

OneEyedWilly · 19/03/2015 14:29

We had to make a pinhole projector with DSD as part of her homework last weekend. The school is getting all the kids to make them so they can see it. I'm very surprised your DD's school isn't taking advantage of an educational opportunity tbh

georgeousgeorge · 19/03/2015 14:29

our school seems to have excelled itself - we have instructions for pinhole cameras / or bring a named colander(??) and a bit of white card - they will be observing it!!

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