Out of the Classroom, Into Space
Tucson high school math teacher Mike Schmidt was one of
the first Pathfinder astronauts in the Teachers in Space program. Teachers in
Space is a NASA-sponsored project that educates teachers on suborbital
astronautics, with the intention of sending teachers on suborbital flights in
the future. According to Schmidt, this
proud and adventurous career began at Northern Arizona University. "I look
back on my undergraduate experience at NAU as the most important and
influential time in my development as a teacher," he says. “I utilize the
theories and concepts from my education classes and the practical applications
learned from my methods classes on a daily basis."
Finding success
Schmidt credits his professors with contributing to some
of his success as a teacher. "I was blessed to have a very wide range of
professors with backgrounds and experiences from multiple academic
environments," he says. His student teaching was also a way for him to broaden
his interests. "Through NAU, I was able to complete my student teaching
experience in Germany at a Department of Defense Dependent School,” Schmidt
says. “I treasure my student teaching in a way that few teachers do.”
Within ten years of graduating from Northern Arizona
University, he was named the Flagstaff area’s Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year in
2002, and a Flinn Foundation Honored Educator in 2005. Schmidt was also honored
as one of the first Teachers in Space. As part of this program, he designs the
curriculum that will be used to help prepare the thousands of teachers who will
be participating in suborbital educational flights. He is among a small group
of "Pathfinders" who will lead the way for the large numbers of
astronaut teachers who follow. These Pathfinders will be the first teacher-astronauts
to fly in space and return to the classroom.
He is at the cutting edge of a shift in how educators teach
math and science and how students learn. "I have already seen the way that
my own training experiences have helped my students find a renewed interest in
math and science. As the program grows to send two hundred teachers into space
each year, this excitement will be shared with many teachers and multitudes of
students," he says.
Schmidt believes his education at Northern Arizona
University was an important catalyst for his future career. "I look back
at my time at NAU as the critical first step that prepared me for this
indescribably amazing journey."