Response to October Sky

         Recently, we watched the movie October Sky. This movie is about a kid named Homer Hickam's ambition about rockets after he observes the Sputnik in an October night flying through the stars. He then is inspired to create a rocket of his own with the helps of his friends, Roy Lee and Odell, along with science geek Quintin. They form the Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA), a rocket launching spot. Unfortunately, his father John did not approve of this and wanted his son to pursue the Coalwood (of West Virginia) tradition to work in the mine. The disadvantages of working in a mine is that it is likely to get killed by accidents and coughing due to breathing in coal dust. Homer and his friends use the successful rocket they built and compete in a science fair and win. Because they won, one of them gets to go to another big science fair in Indiana and wins there again! This movie connects to science, math, and our character education.

         October Sky relates to science because of the movie having to do with rockets. The boys try many times to build a successful rocket with correct proportions and eventually succeed. Along with rockets, there are coalmines. Many of the citizens in Coalwood work in the towns' well-known coal mine, hence the name "Coalwood". Coal is a very useful rock in science. Coal is also used to power trains, as electricity, heat up places, as well as being given to people on the "Bad List" by Santa Claus. In the scene where they show Sputnik also relates to science as Sputnik being the first human-made object to orbit the Earth.

           This movies involves math Homer uses the equation from the book Miss Riley gave as a birthday present to prove that one of the boys' rockets didn't cause a fire. When, Homer drops out of school in order to work for the mine because his dad is unable to work due to injuries in the mine, in his spare time he figures out a very difficult equation with no help. 

             The movies also exhibits character education when the boys show empathy towards Quentin, a science geek by letting him join their group.  In addition, towards the end of the story John shows cooperation by finally attends his son's last rocket launch, thus given the honor to push the button in order for the rocket to take off.

              October Sky is a wonderful movie to watch. It's also inspirational because it shows that even an ordinary boy can pursue his extraordinary dreams. For further information, this movie is based on a real story with the real Homer Hickam. So why don't you rent this movie and watch it!