Star Gazing

[AR]

For the past 40 years our Arlington school system has owned and operated a planetarium. Every year, every grade level at every school in the county has had its "Planetarium Day," where various programs are presented as part of the science curriculum.

After 40 years, the place needs some rehab work and a facelift. The projector is old, the carpets are shabby, there's asbestos that needs abatement. The new school superintendent, hired last year, immediately came up with what he thought was a great idea: bulldoze the place. He said that planetariums were a "low-tech relic in a high-tech world," and didn't deserve a place in the school curriculum. He said that nobody would miss it, and the cost of fixing it up was just too high.

"Excuuuuse me!" said the people of Arlington, parents who are generally very much involved with their kids' educations, and students who are generally pretty bright (have you ever noticed how those things tend to go together?"). It was clearly time to take the new superintendent to school.

I don't know about you, but I've never walked out of a planetarium without feeling inspired, without my imagination racing, and without feeling just a little humble. It's marvelous to let your mind stretch, to understand the things science can reveal, and sometimes the things it can't. Planetariums might be low-tech by some definitions, but somehow I can't imagine reclining in those seats and seeing the universe unfold around me being adequately replaced by stars on an iPad screen. Our kids, now long gone from the public school system, used to talk glowingly about their Planetarium Days.

So when the community got together and mounted the "Save the Planetarium" campaign, we were happy to contribute, and we got the t-shirt. Terry's had some post-surgery shoulder rehab lately and she wore the shirt to one of her sessions. One of the assistants said, "Oh, cool, you gave to the planetarium. My dad's the administrator!" Seems like everybody at the grocery store had the shirts on too.

Last week, there was a ceremony during which the superintendent was presented a check for $400,000, in return for which he promised to rehab the place and keep it open. According to news reports he appeared quite embarrassed by the whole thing, but managed to choke out some words to the effect that this shows what can be done when people believe in something.

People in these parts do more than give lip service to education, and I've always been very proud of the community for that. You may say that this is just a bunch of "rich" folks throwing their money and their weight around, but if you do, you're missing the point. Most people around here get involved in community issues, and that IS the point. This spirit has been known for decades as "The Arlington Way." There's no real definition for it, but we all know it when we see it--and we see it a lot.

It's no surprise that kids around here tend to succeed, even in hard times. And it's not all about money. It's all about expectations articulated and fulfilled, expectations for our kids and for ourselves. It's how we do it and sometimes it's worth bragging about. It used to be called "civics," a word that has fallen into grave disuse, along with its several meanings.

So here's to looking at the stars for many years to come, and to learning with our feet on the ground! As the Bard said, "The answer, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

[ToddDH]

I strongly agree. When I was a child (sometime back when Hector was a pup) I was dragged by my parents to a Planetarium. I never had to be "re-dragged" a second time. I have been enthralled by planetariums ever since.

What I can't fathom is why any school official would even begin to think a planetarium was not worth the resources to maintain it.

Kudos to the folks in Arlington.

[Moiraine]

That is worth bragging about AR.

[Henry43]

Originally Posted by AR

For the past 40 years our Arlington school system has owned and operated a planetarium. Every year, every grade level at every school in the county has had its "Planetarium Day," where various programs are presented as part of the science curriculum.

After 40 years, the place needs some rehab work and a facelift. The projector is old, the carpets are shabby, there's asbestos that needs abatement. The new school superintendent, hired last year, immediately came up with what he thought was a great idea: bulldoze the place. He said that planetariums were a "low-tech relic in a high-tech world," and didn't deserve a place in the school curriculum. He said that nobody would miss it, and the cost of fixing it up was just too high.

"Excuuuuse me!" said the people of Arlington, parents who are generally very much involved with their kids' educations, and students who are generally pretty bright (have you ever noticed how those things tend to go together?"). It was clearly time to take the new superintendent to school.

I don't know about you, but I've never walked out of a planetarium without feeling inspired, without my imagination racing, and without feeling just a little humble. It's marvelous to let your mind stretch, to understand the things science can reveal, and sometimes the things it can't. Planetariums might be low-tech by some definitions, but somehow I can't imagine reclining in those seats and seeing the universe unfold around me being adequately replaced by stars on an iPad screen. Our kids, now long gone from the public school system, used to talk glowingly about their Planetarium Days.

So when the community got together and mounted the "Save the Planetarium" campaign, we were happy to contribute, and we got the t-shirt. Terry's had some post-surgery shoulder rehab lately and she wore the shirt to one of her sessions. One of the assistants said, "Oh, cool, you gave to the planetarium. My dad's the administrator!" Seems like everybody at the grocery store had the shirts on too.

Last week, there was a ceremony during which the superintendent was presented a check for $400,000, in return for which he promised to rehab the place and keep it open. According to news reports he appeared quite embarrassed by the whole thing, but managed to choke out some words to the effect that this shows what can be done when people believe in something.

People in these parts do more than give lip service to education, and I've always been very proud of the community for that. You may say that this is just a bunch of "rich" folks throwing their money and their weight around, but if you do, you're missing the point. Most people around here get involved in community issues, and that IS the point. This spirit has been known for decades as "The Arlington Way." There's no real definition for it, but we all know it when we see it--and we see it a lot.

It's no surprise that kids around here tend to succeed, even in hard times. And it's not all about money. It's all about expectations articulated and fulfilled, expectations for our kids and for ourselves. It's how we do it and sometimes it's worth bragging about. It used to be called "civics," a word that has fallen into grave disuse, along with its several meanings.

So here's to looking at the stars for many years to come, and to learning with our feet on the ground! As the Bard said, "The answer, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

I urge every youngster to read a bio of Neil deGrasse Tyson .