Don't Stop Paying Attention

It's January, which means returning from Christmas to my favorite chapter.  The unit I teach on manned space exploration is not only my favorite, but it is usually their favorite as well.

One of the best resources I have in teaching this chapter is the excellent HBO Mini-Series, From the Earth to the Moon.  While there isn't time to show all 12 episodes, I have carefully selected three that enhance the flow of the unit.  The first episode, "Can We Do This?" sets the stage by taking the viewer all the way from Yuri Gagarin to the introduction of the Apollo 1 astronauts.  The second one that I show them is "Mare Tranquilatis," the episode when Armstrong and Aldrin actually land, usually prompting my students to feel sorry for Michael Collins more than anything.  The third is episode 10, "Galileo Was Right."  Someday, I will write a post entirely about that episode because it is my absolute favorite.  For right now, I want to address something in "Mare Tranquilatis."

Shortly after landing on the moon, Buzz Aldrin tells Neil Armstrong that there is something he would like to do and has cleared with Deke (the head of the astronaut corps).  He reaches into a velcro pocket and pulls out a small chalice and communion wafer and a handwritten card with two scriptures written on it.  Given that the Apollo 8 astronauts had been sued by famed atheist activist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Buzz gave a rather vague statement over the public radio broadcast, saying, “I would like to request a few moments of silence … and to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way.”

Neil Armstrong then respectfully looked on while Aldrin quietly read John 15:5, "I am the vine.  You are the branches.  He who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit,  for you can do nothing without me."  (By the way, the members of his church, Webster Presbyterian in Texas, home church of many astronauts, gathered at the same time to join him in communion.)

I have seen this video over 60 times, but this year, something struck me in this scene that I had never noticed before.  The passage ends, "Without me, you can do nothing."  For the first time, it hit me how profound this statement was in the context of what they had just done.  These two had just landed the lunar module, a feat that some had previously believed to be impossible.  Yet, moments later, Buzz reminded himself and his commander that this event was only possible by the grace of God.

When you teach for many years, it can be hard to imagine that you haven't heard everything.  The moment you think that, a student asks a question you've never been asked.  It can be tempting to think you know your subject so well that you won't need to alter it.  I don't know about every subject, but I can assure that isn't true in science.  It's always changing.  It's hard to imagine that you could notice something new in a video you have watched over five dozen times, but you can.  Teachers, don't check out when showing a video.  They are filled with teachable moments.  Don't stop learning from the world around you and the way your students interact with it.  In short, don't stop paying attention.