The Sun and Us

Rationale

Huguenot High School is a Title (I) school, located in Richmond, Virginia. Our school is identified as a Title (I) school and therefore qualifies for federally funded educational programs because over 40% of their student population is below the poverty level. These funds are allocated to provide robust academic supports to help ensure that all children even from low-income households meet challenging state academic standards.² Based on the data from the Virginia Department of Education School Quality Report for 2020, approximately 1200 students are enrolled at Huguenot High School. Forty-Nine percent (49%) come from economically disadvantaged homes. Our dropout rate is a staggering 29%, and 22% of our students are coded for chronic school absenteeism. 14% are students with learning disabilities 21% of the student population are English-Language Learners and mandated to enroll in our Limited English Instruction Program (LEIP).³

My student population consists predominantly of African American and Central American immigrant youths. Over the years that I have taught this course, I realized that my students come alive during the astronomy portion of my Earth Science class. In response to my students' interest in astronomy, I developed this curriculum unit to foster their curiosity and provide more opportunities for them to deepen their knowledge of how scientists study the Universe. In fact, an astronomy class is an excellent opportunity to highlight the contributions of Mesoamerican civilizations and African Americans to the collective knowledge and information about the cosmos. By including contributions from other cultures and peoples, allows students of color to see themselves reflected in the coursework. My Latinx students should know that the Mayans were avid astronomers. Since 500 BCE, the Mayan calendar approximated 365 days in a year. Mayans also described the planetary motions of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. With ancient instruments, Mayans meticulously recorded Venus’ orbital revolution as 584 days.  Modern technology has measured Venus' revolution to be 583.92 days.⁴

The iconic NASA Apollo 11 Mission cemented America’s domination in the Great Space Race with the former USSR. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Alan Shepard became household names. In the 2017 academy the blockbuster movie “Hidden Figures” introduced the world to three African American female mathematicians in the segregated south, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan. They were instrumental in solving the trajectory of astronaut John Glenn's space capsule.⁵ Other African Americans of note that students can research include self-educated astronomer Benjamin Banneker, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and astronauts Guion Bluford, Mae C. Jemison, Leland Melvin, and Victor J. Glover. My students will be thrilled to learn about these amazing contributions by African Americans.

In addition, our school shares the same home state location as the world-renowned NASA Langley Research Center. NASA’s outreach programs have a vested interest in providing educational programs and internships for students to gain real exposure and provide training for the next generation of space scientists.

This curriculum unit will align with the Virginia Department of Education standards of learning, foster multicultural delivery of instruction, and demonstrate to students the nature of science, whereby science continuously builds upon or disproves the previous knowledge and advancements of others. This unit is quite timely, as we are currently experiencing a resurgence in space travel and exploration from both the public and private sectors. In this unit, students will learn techniques that will deepen their understanding of the cosmos and hopefully inspire some to pursue careers in the space sciences.