Real talk: What’s more remarkable than being an astronaut? Being an astronaut dad, that’s what. Adam and Marc are joined by former astronaut Winston E. Scott, who shares stories of his NASA space missions, his tenure as a US Navy Captain, the crucial importance of STEM education, and his own unique perspective on raising children to be bold, confident adults. Also, learn the answer to the burning question on everyone’s minds… what the hell is Adam’s middle name?
Real talk: What’s more remarkable than being an astronaut? Being an astronaut dad, that’s what. Adam and Marc are joined by former astronaut Winston E. Scott, who shares stories of his NASA space missions, his tenure as a US Navy Captain, the crucial importance of STEM education, and his own unique perspective on raising children to be bold, confident adults. Also, learn the answer to the burning question on everyone’s minds… what the hell is Adam’s middle name?
Modern Dadhood episode 32 opens with Marc and Adam playing a halfhearted game of “guess each others’ middle names” before alluding to an early episode of the podcast where Adam recalls his brief childhood desire to be an astronaut when he grew up... and realization that he wasn't cut out for it!
The conversation pivots to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and its vital importance in school curriculum starting at a young age. As technology evolves at a rapid pace, many current jobs will be replaced by AI, while other new career opportunities arise. Critical thinking, a component (or perhaps a valuable byproduct) of STEM education, will be essential to solving future world problems.
The guys tee up a recent conversation with a major proponent of STEM: Winston E. Scott. Winston is a former US Navy Captain, a former Astronaut, and yes, a father of two. Winston shares about his acclaimed career, his experience raising two children while continuously relocating around the country for his Navy career, how his family prepared for his departures to outer space, and how his personal philosophies on confidence and fear have influenced his kids’ interests and career paths. Topics of the conversation include:
• The nomadic lifestyle of a Navy pilot
• Aeronautical Engineering
• Instilling a sense of excitement and opportunity in our children (over fear)
• A new perspective that only comes from looking at Earth from outer space
• Winston's family's reaction when he was selected by NASA
• Spacewalking and Extra Vehicular Activity
• Space flight is a team effort that requires specialists across many fields
• What "critical thinking" means
• How can we, as parents, encourage our kids to explore STEM?
Links:
Winston E. Scott (Wikipedia)
Winston @ TheHistoryMakers
Reflections From Earth Orbit
NASA
Red Vault Audio
Caspar Babypants
Spencer Albee
Adam:
Alright, we doing this?
Marc:
Yeah, let's do an episode of Modern Dadhood, the podcast. Oh, now it can start.
Adam:
Hey, Marc.
Marc:
Adam.
Adam:
Sorry, that wasn't enthusiastic enough. Hey, Marc.
Marc:
Adam, good to see you, my friend. Was that, could you tell that was-
Adam:
That wasn't believable enough. One more time.
Marc:
All right.
Adam:
Hey, Marc.
Marc:
Adam.
Adam:
We suck at this.
Marc:
I know, it's so terrible.
Adam:
This is Modern Dadhood. It's an ongoing conversation about the joys, challenges, and general insanity of being a dad in this moment, and my name is Adam J. Flaherty. I'm a father of two daughters who are six and a half and three and a half. And you, sir?
Marc:
Well, I certainly don't know what the J stands for, but I'd like a chance to guess, and then I'll tell you my middle initial. If you don't already know, you can guess, and it'll be a fun thing. My name is Marc A. Checket.
Adam:
Marc Andrew.
Marc:
Oh shit, how could I have forgotten? Well, we didn't talk about yours, I don't think. My name is Marc A. Checket, and I am a dad, twin boy toddlers. The whole world knows my middle name is Andrew.
Adam:
All right, you've got two guesses.
Marc:
J… You know what I'm going to do here? I'm going to demonstrate some critical thinking, Adam, as a little nod to our episode here. I know that your last name is Flaherty.
Adam:
Irish.
Marc:
Yes, you see? You see what I've done there? But, Adam, Adam is very... I don't know.
Adam:
Man of the Earth, biblical.
Marc:
So, your middle name begins with J. Jacob?
Adam:
J Cup?
Marc:
Jacob.
Adam:
No.
Marc:
Jakey?
Adam:
No, it's a very common J name.
Marc:
James?
Adam:
The MOST common J name.
Marc:
Oh, John… Bobbitt?
Adam:
That's who I was named after. We did it, man.
Marc:
This has been another episode of Modern Pornhood.
Adam:
No, we did it. You know what I'm talking about?
Marc:
We did it?
Adam:
We booked an astronaut on the podcast.
Marc:
It's like a dream of yours that began many, many moons ago.
Adam:
I did in fact say in one of our earliest episodes, if you remember, that when I was a kid, I briefly had this idea that being an astronaut would be kind of a magical career, which I think is probably true of a lot of kids. I think for me, even as a kid, I knew that I wasn't necessarily cut out for it, but I've always admired people who have the determination, and the drive, and the natural smarts to work towards opportunities and careers like this.
Marc:
Yeah, it certainly takes a special kind of human being, a special kind of brain, I think, to be able to achieve that level, to become something like an astronaut. So shortly, we'll listen to our interview with former astronaut, Winston E. Scott.
Adam:
What do you think that E. stands for?
Marc:
Einstein, probably, because he's got such a smart brain.
Adam:
That's a good guess. I'll give you a hint, because I'm looking at it on my computer screen right now.
Marc:
You know?
Adam:
Here's your hint, and it's inappropriate one. E.T.
Marc:
His middle name is EXTRA TERRESTRIAL?
Adam:
No.
Marc:
Oh, it's Elliott?
Adam:
Yes, but I'm pretty sure you have to say it like this. “Elliott.”
Marc:
Elliott. Okay, now write into hey@moderndadhood.com and let us know who was the better E.T.
Adam:
Who is fired. So, I don't know about you, Marc, but I've been wanting to do a STEM-centric episode for a long time now, and I'm hoping that everybody who's listening knows what this acronym STEM stands for. But, in case you don't, Marc, can you please tell us?
Marc:
Strong, temperamental…
Adam:
Nope.
Marc:
Menopause... Science, technology, entertainment-
Adam:
Mm-mm.
Marc:
Engineering and mathematics. I actually just for Ss and Gs, I looked it up, because there's STEM, and then there's also STEAM, because sometimes people add arts.
Adam:
Yeah, the Arts.
Marc:
I'm the type of individual who likes to insert Arts in there. Here's what Wikipedia says, and I wonder if this was actually the way maybe you're supposed to read the acronym, but anyway, it's ... "STEM fields are defined science and technology interpreted through engineering and the liberal arts and based in mathematics."
Adam:
Interesting. I wish I had that little bit of knowledge before speaking with an astronaut.
Marc:
Should have done some research.
Adam:
I'm a little nervous to say this, because I feel like I'm going to sound like an old fart, but-
Marc:
You will.
Adam:
But, we live in a world where a lot of the jobs or careers that are currently available today are going to become obsolete when our kids get old enough to be moving into the workforce, because I don't think of it in terms of robots taking over for humans, but certainly AI will be taking on more and more of those roles. I think that that is one of the reasons why getting a well-rounded education that includes a strong STEM component is so important for our kids.
Marc:
Yeah. The thing is, is that there are jobs that don't yet exist.
Adam:
That's actually interesting. There are a lot of roles that will no longer be filled by humans in the future, but there are also a whole bunch of jobs that don't currently exist that will require humans.
Marc:
Right. Somebody has to feed the robots.
Adam:
Exactly.
Marc:
But, I just think even in general, any human can benefit from the type of education that you get pursuing ... You don't even have to go so far as to pursue a career in the STEM field, but in preparation for this interview with Winston and ever since, I've been really contemplating what it really takes, the brain power that it takes to just absorb information now. You and I both remember life before the internet. Talk about sounding like an old fart, but the information that you got from the world came at you at a way different pace, a way different pace, and from fewer places, right? And, the places that they came from were generally considered trustworthy.
Adam:
Yeah, what was it, the news?
Marc:
Yeah.
Adam:
Newspapers, magazines, the radio.
Marc:
Every city had their big local newspaper. There was a few national newspapers, a few national news outlets, but there was not the 24-hour news cycle, or God knows how many websites that put themselves out there as a news outlet. Then, of course if you add social media into the mix, it just gets absolutely crazy. I think that's the thing, is that you hear a lot of times people in interviews on TV or whatever, you're watching some political something or other, and it's like someone is trying to gotcha interview someone. They're like, "Where'd you hear that?" And it's like, "I saw it on Facebook." You have no idea where this information is coming from, and my point is that there's so much of it that just sifting through it is difficult enough, but pulling out factual bits and meaningful information, reliable information, identifying something like reliable sources takes a certain amount of critical thinking. We need to be able to parse out something that just doesn't smell right. It just doesn't feel right. We need to be able to have the ability to do that.
Adam:
I agree with you. What we're talking about here is critical thinking, which I would argue is a very important component to a STEM education. We talk about all this and more in our conversation with Winston Scott. So, I think that we should play it back. What do you think, Marc?
Marc:
Yes, I'm very, very excited for everyone to hear this. Let's go ahead and listen to our conversation with Winston Scott. I'd like to welcome Captain Winston Scott to the conversation. This is a man who has quite a list of impressive achievements. Among other things, he was a Navy captain in the 1970s, an astronaut in the '90s, and I didn't mistakenly say astronaut. He holds a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering. He's been an educator, an author. He is a seasoned trumpet player and an inspiration to so many people both young and old. And, as it happens, he's also a dad to two grown children. So, Winston Scott, it's very exciting to get a chance to talk with you. Thank you so much for joining us.
Winston:
Well, thank you so much for having me on your program. This should be exciting, and I'm looking forward to getting into the conversation.
Marc:
Us too, us too. I know that we could go off on probably 100 different tangents about some of the stories that you have, so I'll do my best to contain my excitement as we go through these questions. But, we'd love to begin with you just telling us a little bit about your family and your kids.
Winston:
Okay. Well, my family consists of myself, my wife, two adult children. Daughter is married, and we have our first grandchild, two years old. Son is not married yet, but we're hoping for that here at some point here in the future. My wife and I live in Melbourne, Florida. We're both Florida natives, and my career took us all over the place, of course. Being in the Navy, we moved all over the place, but now we live in Melbourne, Florida. Our son is an active duty Naval Officer, naval aviator, and he is a captain now, which tells you how old I am. My son is a Captain.
Marc:
Oh, wow.
Winston:
And, he is the commanding officer of one of the fighter squadrons out at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Our daughter is a journalist. Well, she combines journalism and public health. She has a Master's Degree in journalism, wrote for the Associated Press in Manhattan for a number of years, went back to school, got her master's in public health, and now works for the State of New Jersey, the Public Health Department, the State of New Jersey. So, that's my family at this day in time. We're looking forward to seeing them during the holidays, which are rapidly approaching.
Adam:
Well, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that your children have gone on to do very impressive things. I wonder if you can walk us through sort of an abridged version of your timeline, including some of your career milestones, but also when your kids came into the picture in relation to the impressive things that you were doing with your career.
Winston:
Well, my wife and I met each other in college during our undergraduate year. So, we've been together for a long time. We met at Florida State University here in Tallahassee, and I graduated just a couple of semesters before she did, starting at flight training. She graduated, we got married, and I continued in the flight training. I finished my flight training in 1974. I was designated a naval aviator, and my first assignment was in San Diego, California. So, we were a young couple, brand new Navy officer and wife moving out to San Diego, California. We knew no one out there, but we knew an adventure was ahead of us. Our son was born in March of '76, and I was working up for my first deployment then. So, he was just a few months old when I made my first deployment to Western Pacific. We finished that tour of duty, and in '78, I was accepted to attend Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. My wife was pregnant with our daughter then, so we had a baby son and a baby daughter on the way when we arrived in Monterey. During my postgraduate work, our daughter was born in 1980. I finished my graduate work and was assigned to Oceana, Virginia for Naval Air Station Oceana. In '85, I got a new assignment moving down to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. Here is where I made the transition from being an operational pilot to aerospace engineering officer. Well, at this point in my career, I switched from doing operational things to getting into the research development testing evaluation side of flying. In '92, I was selected by NASA for astronaut training. The family picked up again and moved to Houston. Of course, we stayed in Houston long enough for the two of them to graduate. So yeah, it's a lot to keep track of, but it's been just a delightful life career-wise, but also having a family. My wife and I have been married for 47 years.
Marc:
That's amazing.
Winston:
Life is good.
Marc:
So, you were always interested in STEM, and your kids saw that firsthand with the work you were doing in the Navy. Tell us about how your family reacted when you learned you were selected for astronaut training by NASA.
Winston:
When I was selected, of course it was a big deal. The newspapers, and interviews, and all that stuff, it was very exciting for everybody, even relatives, distant relatives. In fact, you discover you have relatives and friends that you never knew you had, because it really is a life-changing event for so many people. I can remember we had kind of a little family meeting. I remember telling our kids that I was selected for astronaut training and that the family was going to have to pick up and move to Houston. My daughter was really funny. She asked the question, "Are we going to be rich and get a zoo like Michael Jackson?"
Adam:
Get a zoo? That's amazing.
Winston:
I had to break the news to her. I said, "Dad is going to do some interesting things, but we probably will not be rich, and we probably won't get a zoo like Michael Jackson." Our son was a little bit older, and he said, "I really don't want to move." He said, "I like it here. I've got my friends here, but one thing I've learned over years is that every time we move, it gets better." That's from a fifth grader. So, the stage was set, and we finally... We moved to Houston. Kids, of course, are used to moving around, and starting over again, and making new friends. They both hit the ground running. I was assigned to my first space flight in 1996. We flew nine days in orbit above the space shuttle Endeavor. Two years later, I spent 16 days in orbit above the space shuttle Columbia. On both those flights, I had two primary jobs. I was the flight engineer, mission specialist two, MS two. It's the flight engineer, the flight deck crew, the people that actually operated the vehicle. But, my other specialty was spacewalking, EVA. As you said, I conducted three EVAs.
Adam:
And, now EVA is extra-vehicular-
Winston:
Activity, that's right. Yes, fancy name for spacewalking, put the suit on and go outside.
Adam:
For those who don't know, you hear the term spacewalking, it puts an image in your head of somebody walking on the moon or walking on a planet. But, we're talking about exiting the spacecraft and still being attached to the spacecraft.
Winston:
Yeah, exiting the spacecraft and working outside in the vacuum of space. The suit is self-contained. You do have a safety tether. You try to remain tethered all the time to the spaceship, but you're actually ... You're not walking in our case, because we're in orbit. So, we're floating. So, we call it spacewalking, but we're floating. All of the movement typically is hand over a hand. You move yourself around from place to place, and you accomplish all kinds of tasks when you're outside of your vehicle with that space suit on. During those two flights, we were focused primarily on preparations to build the International Space Station. So, I tested a lot of tools, equipment, techniques, and so on that astronauts later used to build the International Space Station.
Marc:
I've heard several astronauts before describe how their perspective on what it means to be a human being, once they've gone up into space, and they get a chance to look down at the earth from a vantage point that so few human beings have had the opportunity to do. Would you say you had a similar experience in terms of your perspective on what it means to be a human?
Winston:
Yes, I don't think you can fly in space or have an experience like that and not have it affect you in one way or another. I think universally, astronauts who see the earth from space realize how small it is. It's finite. We never see beyond the earth when we're on earth or even an airplane. But, when you're in space, you see the earth. You see the boundary, but then you can see all beyond it, other stuff. So, you realize just how small, finite, and fragile the earth is. It is absolutely incredible. If I were an alien in my spaceship approaching earth, it looks so inviting and peaceful. I would say, "Definitely, yeah. Hey, let's pull over and go land there, check out the earth."
Marc:
Then, a bunch of people who have seen one too many science fiction movies show up...
Winston:
That's right. They show up, and they chase me away, probably.
Marc:
That's actually a fantastic segue, because I'm so curious to know, what kinds of conversations you having with your family in the hours before liftoff?
Winston:
There was no opportunity to really sit down and talk to them about the flight itself, at least I didn't. I think my wife talked with our daughter about it and tried to let her know that what I was about to do is something that is important to the whole world, but something that I wanted to do, something that Dad chose to do. And, we're proud of him. It's a great accomplishment. We should not worry about it. Son was excited. He wanted to know if there was some way he could go.
Adam:
Yeah, you could pack him in a suitcase!
Marc:
Is there room for one more back there in the back?
Winston:
That's right, but where I'm going with this is that one of the things we tried to teach or tried to instill in our children as they were growing up is to not be afraid. We didn't want them to grow up with a spirit of fear. We wanted them to grow up with a spirit of adventure and challenge and gravitating towards things that were different and exciting. I think too often parents instill fear in their children, and maybe not deliberately, but they do it. We're in the military. We're getting ready for a set of orders, and somebody says, "Oh, I don't really want to go. Oh, we don't know anybody out there." All you're doing is reinforcing fear, but from day one, we always reinforced, hey, this is a great adventure. We're getting ready to move to San Diego. We're going to move to Monterey. We're going to move. We're going to meet new people. We're going to meet new friends, and remember Richie and Joy? Guess what, they live in Jacksonville also. When we get there, you'll get to see Richie and Joy. So, we tried to instill in them a sense of adventure, a sense of boldness, and not a sense of fear. Of course our son, Naval Academy, a fighter pilot. He's flown combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. Daughter, very bold in her own right. She studied abroad. She applied for and got accepted to a study abroad program, so she spent a semester living with a family in France, learning French, and speaking French. She spent a summer working in Egypt, and she was exploring the pyramids, sent a picture of her riding a camel. The kids are adventurous, and they're bold. We like to think they live life to the fullest.
Adam:
That's amazing, and clearly it has worked to your children's advantage, because they have lived a life that has sort of followed in your footsteps or been inspired by your work in many ways. I think that it almost goes against the instincts of many parents, because you have a baby, and it's suddenly your job to keep that separate entity safe and protected.
Winston:
Yes, you do want to protect your children. You can't neglect them. You can't throw them into situations where they're going to get hurt, so you want to expose them. You want them to stretch, and to push themselves, and maybe fall and fail, but you don't want them to get hurt. So, there's a balance in there. It was deliberate on our part. We were always there to usher them along, and to support them, and push them along, but at the same time, not let them get hurt.
Marc:
Do thoughts of them come into your mind when you're up there? Or, do you really try to maintain sort of a set of blinders or have tunnel vision on the tasks that you're focused on for the mission?
Winston:
Well, it's very important to compartmentalize, that there's sometimes some things you're doing, you focus on that task. You don't let your mind wander off and get distracted by other things, but there are other times in space, for example, when you can pause for a minute and think about your family or whatever. On one spacewalk, they brought my wife into mission control while we were on the spacewalk, and they let me talk to her very, very briefly. We were doing a retrieval of a satellite, my buddy and I. We were outside on a spacewalk, and we were retrieving a satellite by hand, because it malfunctioned, and we could not retrieve it with the robot arm. It took days of planning and so. It took about three and a half hours of the spacewalk to actually catch the satellite where we got it, and we brought it in. Mission control put Marilyn on the phone, And I said to her, "Hey, honey, I'm sorry, I'm late, but I had to stop and get a satellite, but I'll be home for supper."
Marc:
Holy cow.
Winston:
You compartmentalize. You keep the sense of humor about things, and you push forward. But, you know what? I believe that I was doing what I was supposed to do. I was doing what I was meant to do. Other people probably would not be comfortable up there doing that, and there are other jobs that I would not be comfortable doing. If you put me in certain settings, I'm lost, and fumbling, and stumbling around. I'd be lost. So, that's what I mean when I say I think different people are meant to do different types of things. Aviation, engineering, and flying, and all is why I'm here.
Adam:
So, Winston, your career is very decorated. It covers so many different STEM subjects. That's something that we know that you're a big proponent of. What do you think it is that drew you to science and engineering as a young man?
Winston:
I was always drawn to science and engineering, even as a youngster growing up in elementary school. But, in those days we didn't have programs in the neighborhood to expose students to what we call STEM nowadays. There was no term called STEM back then, so I went to school originally to major in music, and then finished up a degree in engineering, and went on to study. But, I was interested in science and technology from as early on as I can remember. There was just no way to expose me to it, but I believe people have natural interests inside of them. I don't think there's anything we can do to foster something in a person that's not already there. What we can do is expose them, expose our youngsters to as many different disciplines as we can. Then, they will gravitate towards the one that they are naturally here for. The problem is a lot of students are gifted in STEM, and they just don't know it. So, our goal as adults is to expose as many people as we can, as many students as we can to as many disciplines as we can. And, some large number of those will gravitate towards STEM. That's my belief.
Marc:
So, not everybody who becomes interested in STEM subjects, for example, has the natural chops or has it within them, as you kind of put it, to become an astronaut. But, there's something about being an astronaut that it's a really good example of the pinnacle or the apex of something that a human can achieve. It kind of carries with it that sense of greatness and that wonder. It works really well as a symbol, I think, of something that people of all ages can aspire to. But, at the same time, relatively few people have achieved it. But, I'm just wondering, for the sake of our listeners and for the sake of just in general, all of us in general, could you give some examples of important STEM careers that you see a lot of young, talented people working towards, maybe STEM careers that don't immediately seem quite as glorious as becoming an astronaut, but are no less important?
Winston:
Absolutely. In fact, what you just said is a very important point. Astronauts get a lot of glory and a lot of credit. People who fly in space sort of get the limelight, but really space flight, as you know, is a team effort. Astronauts may be the people who the cameras focus on, but a lot of the really brilliant people that make space flight important are people who are behind the scenes. Those are the engineers, the technicians, the scientists, the dieticians, all of those people that make the space program work, the people that design the spaceship, the computer programmers, the navigation people, the material scientists, the medical doctors, even the security people. We don't think about it, but we have to have security at a spaceport. There are a lot of people around the world who would love to infiltrate our space program. You've got to have the security. So, it truly is a team effort. Some of the most brilliant minds are the people that are behind the scenes. So, that being said, there are many, many STEM careers that are challenging and that are rewarding that our young people could pursue. Engineering, of course, is most obvious, but what about being a dietician? People don't think about it, but the food that we carry in space has to be selected. It has to be specially processed, has to be prepared and stored for us and so on. And, the dieticians have to examine us and work with us to know what nutrients we'll need on a particular day. Then, they go through the trash on the week after we get back to determine who ate what, when. They measure you. They weigh you, and they determine how much of this you had, how many calories, how much calcium, how many carbohydrates, how much fat? It is a true science that's intimately involved, and we need people to do that. Astronauts take the pictures. Every picture that comes back from space, we took it, but we were trained by professional photographers. So, there's so many highly achieving STEM careers that go into making up a space program that any person in any discipline could get into it. Artificial intelligence people, the robotics experts, the list just goes on, and on, and on, and on. So, my advice when I talk to young people is choose a subject in which you are interested. Choose something that you're passionate about, and there's a place for it in the space program. The space program not work without all of those people.
Adam:
Well, that's wonderful advice to young people. How about advice to parents? I know that you speak to a lot of groups of students about what a career in science or engineering could look like. Do you have any advice for parents listening on how to encourage a curiosity for STEM in their young kids, starting at an early age?
Winston:
The advice I give the parents, just what you said. You start at an early age, and you encourage students. You expose them to as many different activities and opportunities as you possibly can and allow them to select what they want to do. Just continuous exposure, don't push too hard. I think sometimes parents push too hard, and you know what happens when you push too hard. Kids push back. I have on occasion run into a parent, that the child may, for example, be interested in the military, but the parent doesn't want them to go into the military, and they make that known. They're just adamantly against it. I can't get into people's individual business, but if the opportunity comes up, I try and encourage them not to be afraid of if the student really wants to go into the military, let them go. So, parents have to, first of all, not be afraid themselves. If they are afraid, don't push their fears off on students, and then just expose them the best they can and support students in what they're doing. I came from a family, and so did my wife, two parents in the home. Education was key, and they supported us in the things that we wanted to do. That's important for parents to understand.
Marc:
Yeah. If we could, we'd love to just talk a little bit about the importance of not just teaching the subject of science, for example, but the approach to critical thinking and problem solving that tend to go hand in hand with it, because we kind of are currently in this sticky climate right now, politically, even eking into just culturally, where there seems to be this distrust around the idea of science. It seems like there's something missing along the way between when we first get into school or being educated by a larger system, and when they're out there in the real world. It seems like there's something missing along the way in terms of emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving. I just wonder what your thought on that particular topic is.
Winston:
I agree, and unfortunately it's missing deliberately. People have agendas, and their agendas won't allow them to teach or emphasize critical thinking and dealing with reality, because they have an agenda. I think critical thinking has to be taught at home, and it doesn't have to be some formal critical thinking course. You don't have to go to a website and buy a book on critical thinking. Just have conversations with students and deal with reality. Deal with what actually is, but that requires parents to deal with reality and utilize critical thinking. I have to put my biases aside and deal with what actually is and deal with what I know is right. Even if it makes me uncomfortable, I still have to deal with what is actually true. What is actually happening? What is the truth? And, I have those conversations with our children, and then they learn to observe what is actually happening, not what somebody has told you is happening. What do you see? What do you experience? What is reality? What is right? You know what right and wrong is, so that requires people to let their guard down, and to deal with critical thinking in themselves, and then inspire their children.
Adam:
Dads, Captain Scott wrote a book about his experiences called Reflections From Earth Orbit, which you can of course find on Amazon or you can order through your local independent bookstore. But, I'd also recommend that you search for him on YouTube, because I think so many experts in science and engineering have trouble explaining complex concepts to young people. They get in the weeds, and once you've gotten too technical and you've lost the young person, it's hard to bring them back in. Winston Scott shares stories about his NASA experience in such a human way that he makes even the most technical processes easy to understand. So, if you've got a son or daughter who is interested in STEM, they will get so much out of watching some interviews with Captain Scott, and the archival footage is absolutely fascinating, too. So, Captain Winston Scott, we are honored to speak with you. Thank you so much for sharing about STEM, and your storied career, and your fatherhood experience so candidly.
Winston:
Your show intrigued me when you sent the email, Modern Dadhood, and I thought about it. I believe that fatherhood or dadhood is so very, very important. That intrigued me. I thought I would love to come on and have a conversation on your program about dadhood and throw my two cents on the table. So, thank you for allowing me to do that.
Adam:
Winston, you spent a lot of time with us, and we really appreciate that.
Winston:
Well, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure for me. I wish you all the best of luck.
Adam:
Dads, here we are at the end. I would invite you to learn more about the podcast at ModernDadhood.com. You can search for us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, PocketCasts, anywhere you listen. Please subscribe. Please tell your friends to subscribe. Word of mouth helps us out more than you know, so please help us spread the word.
Marc:
In between episode releases, we put out some content on our Facebook page and on our Instagram account, and you should check them out if you don't already.
Adam:
And, please drop us a line anytime via the good old email at Hey, H-E-Y, at ModernDadhood.com.
Marc:
Thank you to Caspar Babypants and Spencer Albee for our Modern Dadhood music, to Pete Morse at Red Vault Audio for bringing forth all the right frequencies, making us sound super tasty. You can find him at RedVaultAudio.com, and last, but not least, Adam Jehosaphat Flaherty, thank you to the listeners.