"October Sky"

Recently in our unit we watched the movie, "October Sky". This movie was about a teenage boy and his friends who all gained a liking for rockets. They started to build rockets in their town, which was a coal mining town. This movie showed connections to both science and the character education traits.
This film showed many connections to science. One major connection was in the beginning the whole town was excited to see the launch of Russian satellite Sputnik. This launch was truly the inspiration for Homer Hickim, the main character in this movie. Sputnik was launched in October 4, 1957. This launch was one of the largest steps for all space exploration. The launch was said to change everything, it caught all Americans off-guard. Sputnik amazed all the Americans in 1957 and still leaves a huge impact on Americans presently. In the film, Homer lived in a coal mining town. The coal mine was a big deal in their town and the whole town was controlled by the coal mine. Coal mines caused many health dangers. Many coal miners risked their lives working long hard hours in the mines. They lived in the state of West Virginia, which is still known for their coal mines. 99% of the state's power is still generated from coal. The coal mine was the main priority for the town that Homer lived in. His father worked in the coal mines, and dreamed that his son would take his place one day. Homer though did not wish to work in the coal mines. Once his father had gotten injured from the mine, Homer was told to leave school and work in the mines. Staying in the mines too long would damage lungs and cause other health hazards. In 1952 though, congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act. This helped coal miners get help for their injuries. Overall, this film had important connections to science.
Also in this movie they showed connections to the character education traits. At first, Homer was just another boy in the town who played football and future was to work in the coal mine just like everyone else. He though showed everyone that not all men have to work in the coal mines. Homer became friends with a boy named Quintin and they showed cooperation because the two would never even be seen together before this but then got together and built their first rocket. Homer's dad continued to tell him that his dreams in rocket science wouldn't bring him anywhere in life. Homer was very mad at his dad for not believing in him, yet he showed self control and stayed calm when his dad threw his materials away. The teacher that cheered the boys on showed respect because she was the only one that truly believed that the four boys had potential. She continued to tell them that they should continue with their work and not stop no matter what their fathers said. Homer showed assertion throughout most of the film because he was confident in his work in the rockets and when he was told he couldn't continue with his work, he proved his innocence using math. Homer also showed empathy when he went to his teacher and she had confessed that she had cancer. He showed his feelings for her and felt bad for the only person that truly believed in him at first. He also showed empathy when his father had gotten injured from the coal mine and he had to step in for a while. This was empathy because he knew that his father was not able to work. Homer knew that he needed to support the family and he did so. All in all, this film had all the CARES traits incorporated into one.

http://www.wvgenweb.org/wvcoal/time.html
http://www.wvminesafety.org/wvcoalfacts.htm
http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/
http://www.markgerber.com/images/october_sky.jpg