The Space Race and Education In American Schools

The Cold War was obviously a strenuous period for many people all across

the United States. Just like the Second World War, the Cold War was able to change the lives of millions of Americans in many ways. Some of these changes were unpleasant, but other changes were for the better. One aspect of American life that truly changed at a frenetic pace throughout the entire Cold War was education. The Space Race encouraged many Americans to seek for jobs as engineers and scientists so that the United States would not lag behind their Soviet counterparts. This shift extended into American schools, where students were now being encouraged to take math and science classes and told to excel in those subjects. However, American schools were not always this way. There was a time where parents and adults felt that school was being far too easy on American teenagers. Some would joke that while Soviet teenagers were studying and reading books at their school libraries American teenagers were dancing and flirting at school dances. Many felt that this relaxed pace and apathetic behavior over education was causing the United States to fall considerably behind the Soviet Union in science and technology. It would take a major event for the Americans to realize just how far behind they were, and how much work they had ahead of them in order to ever catch up with the Soviets.

As the Cold War continued to touch every single aspect of American and Soviet lives

both sides began to feel that competitive itch against each other. One of their main competition was the famous Arms Race, a competition in which each nation was spending exorbitant amounts of money on nuclear weapons and defense. Soon space exploration would also serve as an arena for Cold War competition. Exploration was something that the Americans had always felt they were good at. The concept of Manifest Destiny had allowed them to take over new lands and thrive in adverse conditions. Some Americans felt that space was no exception. To them, space exploration was a new step in the history of the United States, and to let any other country have more success in space exploration would be completely unacceptable. Therefore, when the Americans received the news about the launch of a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile named Sputnik not too many Americans were thrilled. Sputnik’s successful launch showed the Americans just how far the Soviets had gone in their own projects for exploration, and it gave them a sense of urgency to not only emulate what the Soviets had done but to also surpass whatever the Soviets had ever done.

This renewed sense of urgency led to the rise of the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration, which is today more commonly known as NASA. This was a federal agency that would be dedicated to space exploration. President Eisenhower would also create two national security-oriented space programs that would operate simultaneously with NASA’s programs. The first program was spearheaded by the United States Air Force. This organization was dedicated towards exploiting the military potential of space. The second program was led by the Central Intelligence Agency, which is today more commonly referred to as the CIA. It was

also partly led by the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. This second programs would use orbiting satellites to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and its allies. Overall, the combination of these two programs would represent an attempt by the Americans to not only match the Soviet but to also overpower them.

However, the creation of these programs did not seem to worry the Soviets at

all. In fact, after the launch of Sputnik in 1957 the Soviets continued to make gigantic steps in their space exploration. In 1959 they launched Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the moon. In April of 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth. He would travel in a capsule-like spacecraft that was named Vostok I. The United States would soon follow suit in their own efforts of exploration. In March of 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American astronaut in space. Later, President Kennedy would make the bold claim that before the end of the decade the United States would land a man on the moon. It becomes very easy to notice that both countries were captivated with the Space Race, and that neither side wanted to give up any advantages. However, later it becomes important to see how this overall sentiment of urgency and patriotism translated into education reforms.

Sputnik

American education was undergoing reforms even before the launch of

Sputnik. In fact, the earliest reforms took place in the early 1950’s and they were spurred by the investment of the National Science Foundation. Some would go as far as saying that the launch of Sputnik was not the main reason for education reforms in the United States. Perhaps the biggest reasons were the publication of a book on “Soviet Professional Manpower” and the Soviet detonation of the hydrogen bomb, both of which happened in 1955. Whatever the reason was, it is safe to assume that the competitive relationship that the United States had with the Soviet Union catalyzed the improvements in education and other changes that took place within the United States.

It would be hard to compare the era we live in to the Cold War. Nevertheless, even

today we see how different aspects of education in the United States change over time. It makes us wonder whether or not we are ever going to achieve a definite system and standard for education. Or maybe our education system will never stop changing.