Learning to Give More of Ourselves

The movie (based on a true story) includes Mike Kersjes, a high school football coach and special-education teacher, who teams up with a fellow teacher Robynn McKinney to achieve an impossible dream: to take a group of special education children to NASA's Space Camp. His special needs students range from down syndrome, autism, ADHD, Turrets and more, which is a challenge all on its own. Even then Space Camp is a competitive education program in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Even though it's designed for gifted science students, Mike decides participating in the science program would do wonders for the self-esteem of his students.

There were so many things I could talk to my daughter about during and after the movie. The first talking point was following your dream. Mr. Kersjes was faced with incredible odds - the school doesn't want him taking the kids on more field trips and NASA didn't have any kind of program for special needs kids - at all. He had to repeatedly call NASA and appeal to the school board and once he got his okay from everybody, he still had the major hurdle of funding. But he didn't give up and wouldn't take no for an answer. The kids did their best to help with the funding - holding a car wash and bake sale and finally the answer came in a generous donor, who a couple of the Mr. Kersjes' students worked for.

After they green light to go came, the class was sent teaching aids for the stuff they would deal with at space camp. Most of the terms, and instructions read like stereo instructions and the teachers had to use their imagination to overcome this obstacle and find a unique way of teaching this information so all their students could comprehend it. They made different games up to achieve this goal.

Another hurdle was the way the other kids in school looked at the special needs kids. They taunted them, called them names, picked fights and were just downright mean. After seeing one of his football players trip one of his students, Mr. Kersjes takes the football players aside and tells them how disappointed he is in them. When they accuse him of spending more time with his students then with his team, he explains to them, how good the football team is and how he believes in them, knowing they do not need the help that his students do. He further explains how these students don't usually get opportunities like his football players and it is important to encourage them and give them chances that are usually not available to them and that in the end, they are human beings too. This talk resulted in the football players cheering on the students as much as their coach.

Finally, this band of students was sent to Space Camp and faced many challenges above and beyond what Space Camp offered. Some of their needs made for short tempers and sent insults flying. But the kids learned to band together, encouraged teamwork and produced amazing results.

The part of the movie I really wanted to stress to my child was how to inertact with people that are different than her, but that was the part she already knew on some level. She began her school career at Kissinger Elementary where the special needs kids were and I'm happy to say the students there were very good in helping and recognizing the kids. But this lesson is not just for kids, it's for adults too. To often we sweep the special needs people in our lives under the rug, thinking they can't act normally so why try to have them keep up with us? They're challenges may take more time, more empathy, more patience, but many are capable of more themselves, if we're willing to give more of ourselves.

So I extend kudos to Hallmark and to the real Mr. Kersjes for making dreams come alive, believing in people no matter what, showing us different forms of team work and making this story known so people of all backgrounds, ages, and intellectuals can learn from such a wonderful story.