Fear Not! Lessons from Astronaut Chris Hadfield

• Artwork by Lyon – Gr. 3
• Reason2Ponder:  This featured weekly blog post is intended to consider some of the big questions and possibilities that exist in education and learning in the 21st Century

Reason2Ponder #1 – Fear Not!  Lessons from Chris Hadfield

I remember as a very little girl, seeing the television screen filled with the pictures of the first moon walk.  Seemingly endless footage of not a lot happening.  Yet, for many years, Neil Armstrong was THE astronaut.  In later years, I was somewhat disappointed that he couldn’t have reference his giant step for everyone (not just man), but still he was a key player doing something that mattered.  His place was not questioned until Commander Chris Hadfield brought space into the classroom.  Here was a man that could validate the dreams of a 9 year old can come true.  He was also able to recognize the significance of engaging adults and children alike while he was in space via twitter, video, and music to communicate and inspire.

It is no wonder that educators flocked to hear him speak in Vancouver, B.C. in February at the FISA BC Conference 2016.  Although I was only able to participate via Twitter @CarrieFroese @Cmdr-Hadfield, one of the TedTalks 2014 links was particularly inspiring:  Chris Hadfield – What I learned about fear when I went blind in space.  He explores the notion of looking at the difference between perceived fear and actual danger.  One of the things that he emphasized in his talk was the amount of time spent on practicing for the possibilities that could unfold in space.  He discusses our ability to change our primal fear and come out with a set of experiences and a level of inspiration not otherwise possible. This is what allowed him to proceed calmly even when he lost sight in both eyes when he was outside of the spacecraft.  As an educator in the midst of some major changes in the way we do school, it is not difficult to identify much of the fear and trepidation moving forward with the redesigned curriculum.  However the take-away from Chris is that we have a huge amount of experience as learners and working with children and curriculum.  There is often fear in the midst of change.  However our background knowledge, broad range of experience, extensive research and our collaborative skills put us in good stead to forge the path so our students are well equipped with the ability to navigate successfully through the demands and realities of life in the 21st century.

Chris Hadfield finishes using the music and lyrics of David Bowie to inspire us to take our own self perception to a new level.  Fear not, my fellow educators.  We are ready to navigate successfully on our present course.