Lessons from History: The Challenger Disaster

This post is a departure from my norm, but important to me just the same.  You may or may not know that I love history.  I have a social studies teaching degree, yet God has not seen fit to give me a traditional teaching job.  My children, however, get the occasional free history lesson from mom.  J  Recently, my sixth grade son decided to participate in his school’s fine arts competition.  His category is Patriotic Reading.  I helped him search for possibilities (which gave me a few mini-lesson opportunities) before settling on President Ronald Reagan’s speech to the nation on January 28, 1986—the day of the Challenger disaster.

Before he began working on the speech, I gathered the children around to talk to them about that day.  I wanted him to understand the context and importance of the speech he would be memorizing. 

First, I explained about space shuttles.  Having the privilege of growing up in North Alabama near the Space Flight Center, I grew up in the center of space news.  We heard about the space program all the time and many people that we knew worked in and around the space program in some capacity.  We sometimes saw huge space-related parts floating on barges down the Tennessee River.  I think every kid in N. Alabama goes to Marshall Space Flight Center on at least one field trip in their lives.  We think it is absolutely normal to drive down the road and see rockets standing on the side.  My point is that the space program was familiar and dear to us.  I loved watching space shuttle launches!  It was just amazing to imagine what it would be like to actually go into space and see the vastness of God’s universe.

I looked up video of how space shuttles launched like rockets and landed like airplanes….the kids were amazed.  Then, I showed them the Challenger launch.  I was amazed at how all the emotion I remember feeling came rushing back.  I was 11yrs old and in the 6^th grade….just like my son is now.  We didn’t see it live, but as soon as it happened, school pretty much stopped while we watched the coverage on TV.  We were in shock.  There’s no way to know how many times I’ve seen that video.  It looks SO perfect:  the sleek white shuttle in the clear blue sky.  You watch that knowing what’s going to happen next and it is heart-wrenching. 

My kids watched—speechless.  I sat there with tears streaming down my face.  You might be wandering why I would show them/tell them about something so traumatic.  I think it’s important to teach them about real life.  They handled it very well, and asked lots of great questions.  It’s so important to know these things.  It’s important to know that God is still loving and caring, even when bad things happen.

We talked about the astronauts and Christa McAuliffe.  As I read to them about McAuliffe, I realized that she was 37 years old – the same age I am now.  Wow.  That put a whole new perspective on it for me, too.

Then we watched President Reagan’s speech.  I get chills every time I hear it.  I remember that night, watching it in my grandparents’ living room.  We all sat glued to his words.  What a great president!  I wanted my kids to see and experience what it was like to hear him.   They sat there quietly listening—it’s not very long.  When it ended, I asked my son, “Does that help you know more about your speech?”  He nodded in awe. 

I want him to do his best.  He’s never done a speech before, so I don’t want him to be scared about it.  Whatever happens at Fine Arts is really not important.  The important stuff already happened.  I was able to share with my children how God and historical events are inevitably intertwined.  I was reminded just how grateful I am for my life:  Where I’m from, what I’ve experienced, that I’m able to pass on something meaningful to my children.  God has given me a tremendous classroom – my own home.

Tomorrow is the 26^th anniversary of that fateful day.  It’s one of those “I remember exactly where I was” moments in life.  What can you learn from it?

It is important to take opportunities to weave spiritual lessons into every day life.

What lessons have you learned from history?