Was Tueaday, January 28, 1986 a school holiday for Fairfax County Public Schools?
(the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster)

I was in high school at the time. I distinctly remember watching NASA TV at home
that morning. I'm pretty sure I wasn't home because I was sick that morning.
On the other hand, it was a Tuesday, so why was I at home? It was a long time
ago...

Any ideas?

I remember watching it, in a crowd, on those TVs that used to hang from the ceiling on the Pentagon Concourse. So, it was definitely a normal Federal work day.

FCPS now has two teacher workdays scheduled at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb. Don't know about back then.

I was in PWC Schools on the day of the event, our teacher had it on one of those TV's on the roll around carts. We watched it live, I was sitting in class.

OldGeezer Wrote:
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> Was Tueaday, January 28, 1986 a school holiday for
> Fairfax County Public Schools?
> (the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger
> disaster)
>
> I was in high school at the time. I distinctly
> remember watching NASA TV at home
> that morning. I'm pretty sure I wasn't home
> because I was sick that morning.
> On the other hand, it was a Tuesday, so why was I
> at home? It was a long time
> ago...
>
> Any ideas?


Good lord dude. You are at most 45 years old and you refer to yourself as a "geezer". I was a Freshman in High School. We had gone to lunch at Ponchos Mexican Cafe for the buffet. We "lifted" a container of honey, and ate our sopapillas on our walk back to school. I remember walking back into the building and everyone was freaking out. We spent the rest of the day watching events unfold on the television until school was dismissed. But I will ask my brother in law as he was a Junior at Oakton at that time.

Not that I recall.

You see, in the 1980s, the county hadn't reached its pc stage, giving a day off for every thing which happened in the world.

In fact, we used to go to school WHEN it snowed, and bus drivers put CHAINS on the busses, themselves.

Damn this is going way back but was it a teacher's work day or something? I do remember being away from school that day , although that was quite frequent.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2013 06:55PM by Tough One.

I am a former FX Co. teacher. That was a teacher workday. I remember it well. We were at an inservice when word of the explosion went around.

xtchr Wrote:
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> I am a former FX Co. teacher. That was a teacher
> workday. I remember it well. We were at an
> inservice when word of the explosion went around.


Wow, now teachers "work at home" on those workdays so today they would see it on TV monitors at the mall.

Xtchr, you are correct. I was a senior at WSHS and remember watching it on tv at home, in my pajamas.

It was a work day and school day, thats why so many kids saw it. I was passing thru the front office on my job and saw it take off then blow up, It was sick to see it. I went to a Giant Food saw my mother and told her , she was shocked "the one the teacher was on" Yes. Others in the line heard me and were horrified. I though President Reagans speach to the nation was great that night , one of his very best, how they flew and touched the face of God. That poem was on TV late at night many years, High Flight when stations closed and it was a perfect respectfull statement on the tragedy.


And then there was Sept 11 2001.. and In 1963 Nov 22 a Friday, we will be talking about that day next month. and yes the days in early April 1968 and June 68. All days of infamy in our nations history.

That was a Tuesday so I dont know about teachers work days here, I'll take it that it was as some remember. All around the country however kids saw it in school.

No, it was a weather related day off. There was the threat of a hurricane that did not hit the area, we just got some wind and rain, I remember like it was yesterday

Reagan's speech??? He sucked. What a joke of a president he was. Dude was senile. His assistants ran everything and made all decisions. Typical underground republicans jerkin to Reagan.

It snowed that day and we were either off or had a late opening.

xtchr Wrote:
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> I am a former FX Co. teacher. That was a teacher
> workday. I remember it well. We were at an
> inservice when word of the explosion went around.


It was definitely a school holiday. My friend and I were outside playing football when his grandfather came out and said that the shuttle exploded. we didn't believe him because he was always fucking around.

so what was the conclusion?

was it a teacher's workday for Fairfax County high schools that day or not?

thanks!

Joey Wrote:
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> Reagan's speech??? He sucked. What a joke of a
> president he was. Dude was senile. His assistants
> ran everything and made all decisions. Typical
> underground republicans jerkin to Reagan.


2013



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2016 06:53PM by causeican.

It was not a weather day because I remember driving home from class at GMU and the DJ on the radio asked people to stop calling everyone as it was jamming up the lines. He didn't say why people would be calling each other so it wasn't until I got home and turned on the TV that I knew what happened.

Nice Guy Eddie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was not a weather day because I remember
> driving home from class at GMU and the DJ on the
> radio asked people to stop calling everyone as it
> was jamming up the lines. He didn't say why
> people would be calling each other so it wasn't
> until I got home and turned on the TV that I knew
> what happened.


that's what it was like around 9AM on 9/11/2001. I was listening to WTOP while driving on Rt. 50 near that frozen custard place. I tried to call people and my BellAtlanticMobile(now Verizon) phone would not connect.

It was a teacher workday. It was my first year of teaching and we were out for lunch - the only time all year we get to go out for lunch, and I was a brand new teacher and I remember feeling positively that the older teachers had invited me along. We saw it happen on the restaurant TV. I will never forget it. I would have only been out for lunch on a weekday with the other teachers on a workday.

We were definitely home, I thought it was because it was super cold out that classes were canceled, but I guess it may have been teacher work day. I am sure I was home and not in 7th grade Carl Sandburg Middle.

Fun fact...the astronauts on the Challenger actually survived the explosion. They then plummeted down and were killed when the cockpit crashed into the surface of the ocean.

It was not a Holiday or a snow day, it was a Teacher Workday.


I was skiing in Seven Springs, PA on the day it happened.

Back then there was a two day "Teacher Workday" break between Quarters. It was the end of the 2nd Quarter.

My buddy was listening to his Walkman radio and told me what had happened. We were on the Ski Lift at the time of the news report he heard.

We went in to the Lodge and watched replays on the Big Screen TV.

We were in a state of disbelief.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2016 07:49PM by phelpsmarc.

I believe it was a snow day. Anyone concur? Proof of a teacher's workday or snow in Fairfax County? My brother and I are in the midst of a bet.