October Sky

Recently my unit watched a movie called October Sky. This movie is about four guys who grew up in a coal mining town but then developed an interest in rockets. They started building rockets in there town and became very successful. This movie relates to science and the character education program in our school.
This movie relates to science in many ways. First of all, the main focus of the movie is rockets. In the movie it shows how they fail making their first rockets but then fix it. In the end you can figure out how to make a rocket exactly how they made it. Also, this movie took place when the Russians lunched Sputnik in 1957. This was one of the biggest steps in space exploration. Seeing the satellite fly through the sky gave Homer, the main character, the inspiration to make his own rocket. Once Homer and his friends built a rocket that worked really well they entered it in the County Science Fair. The winner of the County Science Fair went on to the National Science Fair. At the science fair Homer explained how his rocket worked, and everybody was amazed by it because it was the first of its kind. He won both the County and National Science Fair. After he won the National Science Fair he was offered many collage scholarships which was a big deal because most people in that town grew up and became coal miners, and only about two students every year went to collage. This movie doesn’t only relate to science though, it also relates to character education. Homer and his friends had to work and cooperate in order to make their successful rocket. If they fought all the time then they would have never been able to make their rocket. Assertion is shown because Homer works hard and showed people that even though you grew up in a coal mining town, you don't have to be a coal miner. Respect is showed because Homer respects his dad even though his dad is rude and mean to him. Even though his dad didn’t encourage him, Homer's mom showed empathy and encouragement. Lastly, this movie shows self-control. No matter how mean, rude or discouraging some people were Homer never lot his temper. He showed self-control because he just ignored the name calling and mocking and shot for his dream. As you can see, this outstanding movie connected to both science and character education.

Response To jazzdncer's Blog

I read about a disease called Canavan disease. It makes me fell upset because a lot of children lose their lives to this disease that most people don't know anything about. In addition, i can relate to this disease because I'm Jewish and i know a lot of Jewish people. This disease is more common in Jewish people than other races and religions. Fortunately I don't anybody with this disease. I hope that more people will learn about Canavan disease and they will one day find a cure.

The Truth About Down Syndrome!

Down syndrome was discovered in 1959 but it became possible to identify abnormalities in the 1950s. Jérôme Lejeune discovered that down syndrome occurred because there was an extra chromosome. Now some people believe that there are two or three copies of the 21st chromosome. Before birth, it is not possible to predict symptoms that someone with down syndrome will develop, but after birth one symptom could be heart malfunctions. There are treatments that could help the disease but not cure it. Some of these are living in a conducive family environment and vocational training. Unfortunately people with down syndrome don't get to live a full life. The life expectancy of anybody with this disease is 49 years. That means that the 400000 people living with down syndrome in the U.S. will only live until 49. One in every 733 people has down syndrome and there are 2429 cases every year. This disease is vulnerable to all races and economic levels. On the other hand, studies show that down syndrome is more likely to occur in babies that have mothers that are less than 35. Down syndrome is a disease that most people don't know a lot about. To learn more go to these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

http://www.ndss.org/