SUPERINTENDENT’S CHAT

Richard J. McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

One of the memories that is etched in my mind forever was the October, 1957, launching of the Russian satellite, “Sputnik.” I was a young boy and was in the middle of helping my father milk the cows when the announcement came over the radio. I recall being shocked and a bit frightened that the Russians could beat us to space. You must remember that we regularly practiced nuclear bomb attacks in school.

I would strongly recommend that everyone watch a wonderful video entitled, “October Sky.” It has a few words of profanity that you must overlook, but it is G rated and is an inspirational, moving story that should be acceptable for any family with a forewarning of the few words of language.

It is about a young man who first learns of the launching of the Sputnik. He is a high school student who lives in a coal-mining town in West Virginia. He becomes absolutely enthralled with rocketry, and he and his close friends set out to build and launch their own rocket. Up to this point, this young man and his friends saw their only future as the inevitable decent joining their fathers in the coal mines, a dangerous and unhealthy environment. A science teacher inspires the friends to pursue a national science fair contest. There weren’t as many college scholarships back then, but this was a way to open some doors. This was the one in a million chance to escape the mines.

The key character, Homer, doesn’t know a thing about science, and he is admittedly, a poor math student. The dream, however, inspires him, and he learns. He studies math, and the group perseveres. Eventually, they build, and after countless failures, they launch a successful rocket. They win the county science fair and off Homer goes to the national finals and wins it.

“October Sky” is a true story. The four young men all receive college scholarships, and Homer becomes a famous rocket scientist.

Schools are homes with thousands of doors. Behind each door is an opportunity for a youngster to become excited, motivated, hungering for the answers to some personal interest and the inspiration to become a musician, artist, physicist, biologist, or computer expert surfaces. Teachers everywhere, are thrilled beyond description when they find a youngster who wants to learn. We never know when that moment is occurring. For some, it happens in the classroom. For others, it is some external force, such as that Russian satellite. On the opening day of school, I spoke to the Palmer faculty about an ancient Chinese expression, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.” We never know when that student is finally ready to grow. That’s why those thousand doors are unlocked. At that moment, there is no better job in the world.