Colorado Springs – The four-star general took a seat on the carpet in the library at Discovery Canyon Campus and, in a fatherly voice, asked, “What’s holding us on the ground right now?”
The sixth-graders quickly answered the question posed by Gen. Lance Lord, the commander of U.S. Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base.
“If we want to get away from gravity, what do we have to do?” Lord asked during Friday’s session.
So began a lesson in science and mathematics offered by Lord, who was in the classroom to launch High Frontier Adventures, an Air Force Space Command initiative that encourages Air Force space professionals to get involved in K-12 schools.
In cooperation with the Colorado Springs-based U.S. Space Foundation, the initiative strives to spark excitement in students about math and science. President Bush stressed the need for emphasis on math and science during his recent State of the Union speech because America has fallen behind other countries.
While eighth-grade students showed improvement in math and science in 2003, some Asian countries outperformed U.S. eighth- graders in science and math, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Lord has asked that the 40,000 people who work under his command spend time in public schools, promoting science and math and the space sciences.
“I was mentored to when I was going through elementary school and my teachers had a big impact on me, and I know these teachers are here,” he said. “I think if we can put our arms around this, we can really do what we need to do, and that’s keep America on the competitive edge.”
In front of the students, Lord explained that math and science are essential to sending rockets and satellites into space.
“It takes a lot of force to get off the Earth’s surface and get through that gravitational pull, and you know, that’s a mathematical calculation,” Lord said.
The inquisitive students peppered the general with questions: How were the planets named? What makes a planet a planet? Do we know how much fuel it will take to get to Mars?
“I got some tough questions (at work) this morning, but nothing like this. My staff is smart, but these kids, the enthusiasm in their eyes.”
The Discovery Canyon Campus, a public school in Academy School District 20 in northern Colorado Springs, stresses math and science education, with an emphasis on aviation and space science.
Nate Smith, 11, a sixth-grader at the K-12 school, said he wants to grow up to be an astronaut, go to Mars and visit different planets when he gets older.
“That just seems like the ultimate coolness,” he said.
Alyce Baron, 11, who wants to grow up and design satellites, said that having a four-star general come to teach class was “kind of awesome.”
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
