# Solar eclipse versus first day of kindergarten. Which wins?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 27, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973 "2017-06-27T04:20:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/21 "2017-06-27T14:43:36Z")
> [@Folly](#):
>
> I think that was the last one to go from west coast to east coast.
Ack. Now I can’t find the story, so I can’t check it.
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### Author:  [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/22 "2017-06-27T14:45:52Z")
I say send him to school.
If not, he will miss things like:
A review of school rules and procedures.
Handing out paperwork.
Learning his teachers names.
Learning where the bathroom is.
Imagine yourself in this scenario: you’re five years old, you go to school on the second day instead of the first. EVERYONE EXCEPT YOU knows the above things. You get asked where you were yesterday; didn’t you know school started yesterday? Are you that stupid? You need to pee; you have to ask where the bathroom is. Giggles ensue… at your expense. And so on and so forth.
But, hey! You sat in a car for six hours and it got dark for a bit while you were by the car, playing with a stick.
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### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/23 "2017-06-27T14:52:37Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#):
>
> A review of school rules and procedures.
> Handing out paperwork.
> Learning his teachers names.
> Learning where the bathroom is.
It’s kindergarten. He’s not going to the bathroom by himself, he’s going when the class bathroom break happens. And he’s not wandering unsupervised looking for the restroom anyway since he’s five years old. He’ll learn his teacher’s name at the orientation they always have before the first day of class. There is no “paperwork” because it’s kindergarten. The rules will be helpfully written on a big board and spoken day after day after day since, one again, it’s kindergarten.
In fact, when my kids started kindergarten, you were supposed to take your “First Day” photos the day before at the orientation and parent greeting event since the school really didn’t want to hold up for an hour while every mommy and daddy tried to get photos of their little darling’s first steps inside the school and standing next to the sign and waving to mom, etc.
> [@](#):
>
> You get asked where you were yesterday
“My parents let me stay home so we could take a trip to see the eclipse. It was super cool and the sun turned off during the day and it won’t happen again for years and years and years there were tons of people and we stopped for ice cream”.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/24 "2017-06-27T14:55:41Z")
Kids going into Kindergarten don’t have that good a sense of time. Things like “yesterday” and “tomorrow” don’t have that much meaning. They know “now”. Half of them will forget where the bathroom is the next day anyway, and none of them will remember the rules. A few might remember the teacher’s name.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/25 "2017-06-27T15:27:59Z")
Eclipse.
Hell, all three school districts in Charleston are closing on the day of the eclipse even though school starts the week before.
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/26 "2017-06-27T15:40:55Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> Eclipse.
>
> Hell, all three school districts in Charleston are closing on the day of the eclipse even though school starts the week before.
My vote as well. I saw the other day that SIU in Carbondale - in the path of totality for this AND the next eclipse, cancelled their scheduled 1st day of classes on the day of the eclipse.
But, as a parent of adult children, I’m very familiar with the idea that there comes a time at which your kids do not wish to even hear of - let alone benefit from - your experiences.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/27 "2017-06-27T15:43:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Seeing - experiencing - an eclipse is NOTHING like seeing a picture or photograph of one.
This. One thousand times.
It’s MUCH more than getting dark for a few minutes.
Also, it’s more educational than anything he’ll do in kindergarten.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/28 "2017-06-27T15:44:29Z")
Eclipse.
But how much better are you going to see it less than 200 miles away?
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/29 "2017-06-27T16:17:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Eclipse.
>
> But how much better are you going to see it less than 200 miles away?
Doesn’t the first sentence in the OP say they are driving to where it’s full?
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### Author:  [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/30 "2017-06-27T16:46:22Z")
Special day trip with grandparents to see the eclipse wins hands-down over first day of kindergarten. The first, grandson will likely remember, the second, he likely won’t.
By the end of the second day of kindergarten (grandson’s first day) the fact that he was away the day before will be a non-issue.
When you’re too old to go on special trips with the grandchildren, your son will never think “good thing junior was at school in August 2017, I’m glad he didn’t go on a special trip with his grandparents”.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/31 "2017-06-27T16:51:41Z")
Eclipse, unless the weather forecast is bad.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/32 "2017-06-27T17:02:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Doesn’t the first sentence in the OP say they are driving to where it’s full?
??
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/33 "2017-06-27T17:08:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Eclipse.
>
> But how much better are you going to see it less than 200 miles away?
From [the eclipse FAQ](http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/faq.htm):
> [@](#):
>
> OK, so where do I need to be to watch it?
> For the 2017 eclipse, there is a strip of land about 70 miles wide or so (called the ‘path of totality’) that stretches from central Oregon through South Carolina. There are maps on [www.eclipse2017.org](http://www.eclipse2017.org) that will show you exactly where you need to be, to be in the path of totality and therefore to see the total eclipse. Go to the site, and look at the maps there. That will tell you where you need to be.
So presumably they’re driving 3 hours to get into the path of totality. In other threads on this event, posters have said the difference between a total eclipse and a partial eclipse is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
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### Author:  [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/34 "2017-06-27T17:09:33Z")
I’m taking my first grader and three-year-old to see the eclipse. I think school starts the week before for the first grader, so he won’t be missing that. We live about 20 minutes from a prime eclipse-viewing area. The kids will have more school days than they can stomach over the course of their lives. How many times will they get to go watch an eclipse with their dad?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/35 "2017-06-27T17:20:18Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> From [the eclipse FAQ](http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/faq.htm):
> So presumably they’re driving 3 hours to get into the path of totality. In other threads on this event, posters have said the difference between a total eclipse and a partial eclipse is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
Thanks. I get it now. Definitely the eclipse instead of kindergarten.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/36 "2017-06-27T17:37:19Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Thanks. I get it now. Definitely the eclipse instead of kindergarten.
Oh, yeah. Having been in one (see above), you don’t really notice it until the last few minutes, when the sun is almost completely covered. You could rig up one of those camera-type jigs to show you how much of the sun is covered up, but that’s nothing special. You have to be in that very narrow band where the eclipse is full or else… nada.
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### Author:  [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/37 "2017-06-27T17:46:10Z")
It’s probably unpopular, but if my husband and I are on the fence on something to do with our kids, if it’s not an inconvenience to everyone sometimes I’ll just ask them if they’ve got a preference.
If it were me, I’d go see the eclipse. They’ll probably be doing much the same thing on the second day that they were on the first, so I doubt he’ll miss much.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/38 "2017-06-27T17:52:34Z")
Here’s another view: They should take the kid so the parents can see the eclipse. The kid will probably forget all about it, but if the kid goes to school, the parents (or at least one of them) have to stay behind. Sometime the world doesn’t revolve around the kid.
Now, the kid might like it, too, but I think that’s secondary. At his age, it’s unfortunate that it won’t be much of a memory. He may even resent the long car ride more than he likes the few minutes of the eclipse.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/39 "2017-06-27T18:41:08Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#):
>
> Well, I’m still his parent, and as a parent you never stop trying to keep your kids from making decisions they will regret for the rest of their life, not that it ever works…
You mean like taking their kid out of his first day of school ever? First day of third grade, different story, but first day ever? I’m in the minority here, but my kid would go to school. There will be other eclipses, even if one has to travel farther, like Asia or Africa to see them.
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### Author:  [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-eclipse-versus-first-day-of-kindergarten-which-wins/789973/40 "2017-06-27T18:55:54Z")
I have no memory of my first day of kindergarten. However, I distinctly remember about a year later when we took a trip to the local observatory and I saw a white fuzzball in an eyepiece that was Halley’s comet.
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