News: Interview
Reach for the Stars

NEA member Barbara Morgan prepares to travel into space.

As NASA's first educator mission specialist, Barbara Morgan will take students on a new journey of learning. Morgan, a former elementary school teacher from Boise, Idaho, first gained recognition in 1985 as the backup for the pioneering Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe. After the Challenger explosion in January 1986, Morgan continued to work with NASA and entered the astronaut training program full time in 1998.

Since then, she has trained at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Morgan will travel into space in 2004. She spoke with NEA Today's Kristen Loschert about her upcoming flight and the role educators can play in the space program.

Why did you enter the astronaut training program?
Because the opportunity was there. I'm a teacher and teachers always look for opportunities to bring the world to the classroom and opportunities that will enrich our classrooms and the classrooms of those around us.

After the Challenger accident, NASA asked if I would continue on and fly at some point for education. It took some time, but in 1998 that's what happened.

Why is it important to have an educator on the shuttle team?
It's important now just as it was when the Teacher in Space flew. Teachers are explorers, and a space flight is a natural thing for a teacher to do. Teachers explore with their students every day and instill curiosity as much as knowledge.

I personally hope that what actually happens is young people will pay attention to teachers across the country and want to become teachers, just as Christa had hoped.

What will your duties include?
First and foremost my job is to be a good crew member. We all get trained to the same level as mission specialists and we have a variety of roles, including flight engineer, running and monitoring all the equipment and systems onboard, robotics, space walking, and doing the science onboard.

There's also education. There are education activities going on right now, and it will continue to be a core focus.

How did your experiences as a teacher prepare you to become an astronaut?
First of all, teachers are in the business of learning. It's what they do day in and day out, every day.

You're used to working hard and working with lots of different individuals in different challenges and environments. All of that prepares you well for working in space.

Do you miss teaching?
Very much. I really miss the students. I miss the calling.

What are your plans after the mission?
I hope to fly a couple more times, then I want to go back to the classroom.

What would you say to a young aspiring astronaut?
Go for it. I'd say the same thing for kids who want to be teachers. It's a wonderful thing to get to learn every day. Kids just need to continue working hard and find the things they love.

Math and science are important, but so are reading and writing, literature, and the arts. Whether as an astronaut or a teacher, we try to prepare kids by giving them skills and by working with them so they can see the possibilities. The better prepared you are, the more opportunities you have to keep that door to the future wide open.

What advice would you give to beginning teachers?
I would tell them they have chosen a great profession. It's the best profession in the world and it's the hardest.

I often think that no matter how hard the astronaut training gets it will never be harder than teaching.

What do you think it will be like to return to the classroom?
It's going to be a challenge. I know a lot of teaching is practice, practice, practice. I know things change in education, so I'm looking forward to taking the classes to get back into practice.

Will you help train future teachers who enter the space program?
It's funny you should ask that because we all do that. That's one of the neatest parts of the training--everybody pitches in and helps train each other.

When we first started, they put each of us new folks in an office with a very experienced astronaut. It was so great. We were learning the basics and everybody was so willing to share and give tips and answer our questions.

I can't wait for the new teachers to come along and help out, and I think everyone else in the astronaut office feels the same.

It sounds a lot like a new teacher mentor program.
It is. It's also like the collaborative teaching we do in the classroom.

My favorite years in school were those spent as a third-grade teacher. We all worked together closely and took turns going into each other's room. We were constantly learning from each other.

To me, those were the most rewarding years in the classroom, going to the more experienced people, but also drawing from my immediate colleagues.