Connection with the Natural World Affords Us the Chance to Learn

I enjoyed marveling at last week’s eclipse along with several hundred other community members. Between our middle and upper school students watching during their arts and sports classes, our faculty and staff scattered around campus, and a huge gathering of parents and lower school/early childhood students on the Thacher lawn, campus was buzzing as the moon and Earth orbits slowly aligned into the path of the sun’s light.  

As I stood with a group of 6th graders, and the subject arose of the next solar eclipse in the US two decades from now, the students commented that they will be 32 at that time – and “that is so old.” How nice it would be, I thought, to be 32 years “old” again!

As we planned for the eclipse over the past several weeks, the conversations often understandably began with worry (“how do we make sure no one damages their eyes!”) and then moved on toward logistics (“should we change our dismissal time or bus schedule or cancel sports contests?”) Thankfully, with those questions answered, the discourse led to the proper priorities – education. A solar eclipse is an amazing event. It provides the opportunity to learn about how gravity and orbits work, what the sun’s composition is and how that affects our eyes, the ways animals react to an eclipse, and so on.

We take a similar approach with phenomena large and small such as the previous week’s earthquake (and the logarithmic nature of the Richter Scale) and the cicadas expected this summer (the 13 and 17 year broods are both hatching this year, the first time in 221 years – because 221 is the lowest common multiple of 13 and 17).  Likewise, we also take a similar approach with predictable things like the ramps growing in the NCCS woods in spring, the changing of the leaves in the fall, and the flowing of the sugar maple sap in the late winter.    Connection with the natural world affords us the chance to learn at every turn; how fortunate we are to have a campus like this in a community that values nature, as ours does.  

If the large turnout to witness the eclipse together is any indicator, we are all lifelong learners; marveling at such phenomena. This is something I particularly value about our community. So is knowing that our students will take these lessons with them to have forever, even when they are old – like 32!