Lessons from Unexpected Storylines

A recent assignment had me watching a show I would not have chosen. The show was from 1998 and is titled From the Earth to the Moon. The episode was season one, episode ten. The subheading for the episode is Galileo was Right. My husband watched the episode with me and repeatedly asked me, “What is Chrisitan about this?” I had to laugh as earlier in this class, we discussed what makes education Christian, but aside from that, I had to explain more than once that watching the episode had nothing to do with Christian education.

The episode explores the true story of three astronauts on Apollo 15 who landed on the moon and completed an expedition. The crewmembers included Commander David Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden, and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin. The episode focuses on the Apollo 15 astronauts and their backup crew, who undergo extensive geology training to prepare for their mission.

The Apollo 15 mission would extend from July 26, 1971, to August 7, 1971.“ The mission objectives were to explore the Hadley-Apennine region, set up and activate lunar surface scientific experiments, make engineering evaluations of new Apollo equipment, and conduct lunar orbital experiments and photographic tasks.” The mission would require geology expertise.

NASA believed the astronauts could become trained in geology if they had the right instructor who would be able to get the “science part” of their brain interested. Professor Lee Silver was sought out and recruited to train the astronauts to be geologists. Silver initially declined the challenge but soon agreed when he realized he could train others to see what he saw, which was the ability to see the mystery.

Silver would take the astronauts to various desert lands and train them to look for things requiring more profound thought. In the beginning, the astronauts were reluctant to learn. They saw rocks where Silver saw mystery. In time, Silver won the astronauts over as he had a way of helping them to solve the answers by seeing the details.

The time came for the Apollo 15 mission. Silver was in the mission control center, listening to the astronauts and following their lunar adventure. The astronauts were successful in their mission and set several records. In the episode, the astronauts continually gave credit to Silver. Without Silver, the astronauts would not have been successful.

This story exemplifies the power of sharing what we are passionate about with others. When we teach in a way others are interested in, they often go to another level. Going to another level is what educators should want for their students. Silver taught in a way that allowed the astronauts to be successful. Their success greatly impacted NASA and the knowledge they shared with countless others.