Reflection 12

The Soviet Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite. It was about the size of a basketball, only about 183 pounds, and could circle the earth in 98 minutes. The launching of Sputnik is important because it led to many new developments. The Sputnik also led to changes in curriculum in schools. After the launching of the Sputnik, schools were blamed for the United States lagging behind in knowledge of space.

Since schools were being blamed, congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) and gave close to a billion dollars to fund programs in Science, modern languages, guidance, and math. After Sputnik, students were entered into challenging math and science courses and were also made to study a foreign language. After the Soviet launched Sputnik, the U.S became obsessed with the race for space; they refused to let the Soviets win this race. They became obsessed with educating scientists and engineers. This led them to winning the race towards the moon.

When Sputnik landed, the U.S government wanted their nation's schools to meet the same challenge as the Soviets. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 was passed for "the security of the nation" and to cultivate "the mental resources and technical skills of young men and women." The NDEA sponsored training programs for teachers, advocated a change in instruction and more enriching curriculum, they also granted scholarships and loans for the students that were in college for careers that would secure the nation's future.

The launching of Sputnik served as an eye-opener for the United States. It was as if the Soviet were sending the U.S a memo saying "Hey United States of America, we're going to beat you in the race of space, then in every other race we can think of." If the Sputnik had not happened, then the U.S probably would not having decided to take more interest in science and math, and if the U.S had not made math and science more important subjects, then perhaps we would not have been the first nation to land on the moon. So, the Sputnik was not only the first satellite, it was also a wakeup call to the U.S nation.