Anyone else had a nearly 50-year homework assignment??
Back in 1978, Patrick Moriarty was 22 years old and determined to become the world's best science teacher. That year, when he taught his first 9th-grade earth science class about solar eclipses, he told them to circle the day April 8, 2024, on their calendar so they could all get together to watch the eclipse.
He continued to teach that class for the next 16 years, each year telling a new batch of students about the planned reunion.
In 2024, after 46 years of planning, Moriarty welcomed more than 100 former students to his home in Rochester, NY to observe the phenomenon that they first learned about in his classroom.
Moriarty told WHAM,
It's not about the eclipse anymore to me. It's all about the reunions.
Which is lucky, because the clouds really obstructed the view of the eclipse for the students gathered there.
Nevertheless, the well-loved teacher said of the viewing of the eclipse,
Everybody got so quiet and let the environment around them take over. And it just seemed very magical.
Some of the students traveled long distances to make it to the long-planned reunion, flying in from as far away as Austin.
One such student, Nick Stathis, who took Mr. Moriarty's class in 1982 drove 5 hours to make it to the eclipse party. He said of the occasion,
It's a tribute to both the eclipse but also the power of teaching. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moriarty affected a lot of people.
Watch this local news story about the special reunion:
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