The Other Right Stuff

I had actually bought the movie Hidden Figures before the end of the school year, and I had planned to watch it to make sure it was safe to show to the class, thinking it might be good to watch on the last day. I didn't get it watched in time. I remember Charlie M. had recommended this movie earlier in the school year, and the subject matter alone does tie in with our space unit.

Last week, I watched it while on a flight, just as a way to pass the time. It turned out to be so much more than I expected. I loved this movie as a teacher, a math teacher, and as a teacher of girls. I love the civil rights message. It shows what one can do with math knowledge. It also shows that if anything is standing in your way, you have to find the way around it or through it. This was shown in three different ways--the pursuit of education being one of them.

I expected the civil rights issue when I watched this film, and it delivered. But what I didn't expect was how empowering it would be to mathematicians, females in particular. Without the women involved in this project, it would have taken much longer for NASA to successfully make it into outer space. Personally, I never knew this story. Also as a lover of history, I ate this up.

If you're looking for a good family-friendly movie to watch this summer (it's rated PG), this is highly recommended. It stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, and Kirsten Dunst.

I'm going to show this in class next year, done deal.