Daily Dialogue — July 30, 2014

“See, Mr. Turner, that rocket fell for about fourteen seconds. Which means it flew to an altitude of three thousand feet. According to the equation ‘S equals one-half A, T squared.’ Where S is the altitude, A is the gravity constant of thirty-two, and T is for the time that rocket took to come back down. Velocity equals acceleration times time. Are you following this, Mr. Turner?”

— October Sky (1999), screenplay by Lewis Colick, book by Homer H. Hickam, Jr.

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Teaching.

Trivia: The author wished the movie to be called “Rocket Boys,” like the book it’s based on, but the studio believed that title would not sell well. The compromise title “October Sky” works on two levels: it’s the month when the hero is first inspired by Sputnik flying overhead, and it is an anagram of “Rocket Boys”!

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here is a case of the student teaching the adult, a twist on the traditional model. For any of you parents with boys and girls between the ages of 10–12, this is a great movie for them to watch, especially if your children are gifted and don’t quite fit into the social scene in school.

If you have any suggestions for this week’s theme, please post in comments.

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