Talk:Christa McAuliffe/Archive 1

From the article

 * '''Challenger's take off had been postponed by NASA several times during the days prior to the tragedy because of different technical problems. Why did they go ahead with the project at that time? No one will know, but as a cause of their decision to go ahead, 7 lives were lost that day, many families suffered the loss of a loved one, the United States space program was changed forever and was suspended for 2 years, and the public will have an ever-lasting image of a very sad moment in American history.

This is hardly NPOV. --mav

It's also inaccurate. We DO know why the decision was made. There's the commission report on the subject and now several books which spell it out. The phrase "no one will ever know" makes the accident seem as if it were some random happenstance. This is not the case. Audin 04:17, 3 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Editing to remove user 217.247.54.86's changes to User Audin's comments. Vary 18:39, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

'It is unknown whether or not Caroline also wants to go into space someday, perhaps aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter that replaced Challenger in the fleet.'

I'm not certain this is from a NPOV; regardless, I do think it's a bit irrelevant. It's also unknown as to whether Caroline likes her coffee black, or with sugar. I'm a changin' it.
 * Yes, fix it. (Nevermind that the shuttle fleet will be retired by 2010, way too early for Caroline to become an astronaut in any case.)  This article seems to attract well-meaning (but rather essay-like) contributions, probably from schoolchildren. Sweet, but not really encyclopedic. &middot; Katefan0(scribble)/ poll 22:19, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

I removed this line from the movie section: "Perhaps, the families of Challenger may not go against the idea this time, because it would be more accurate, and Disney would pay them a lot of money if the movie were to become a big hit", as it is both speculative and inappropriate. trialsanderrors 18:38, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Article needs work
This article needs some serious work. I'd do it myself but the real world beckons.SteelyDave 08:26, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Why was the section on her early life greatly condensed? I'd like to see it restored. User:CraniumBoy 15:44, 31 October 2006

Poor wording
In 2003, 17 years after McAuliffe died, her daughter witnessed the destruction of another space shuttle. As with Challenger, all seven astronauts aboard died. When she heard about this, she cried; this reminded her of her own mother's death back in 1986. Back in 1986, she was only 6, but in 2003, she was 23, thus making her an adult.

"she was 23 thus making her an adult" is poorly worded, and gives information that is obvious from reading it. User:Jacono 00:12, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Did she have kids?! I'm doing a science project and i need to know if she had kids!!!

Questionable Content
According to the article she took Big Bird's place on the Space Shuttle. "NASA had plans to shuttle puppeteer Carroll Spinney with the Challenger crew as his Sesame Street Big Bird, but when Carroll couldn't fit in the shuttle in the Big Bird suit" I don't know the subject well enough to feel comfortable editing it so I'll leave it to those who do.


 * I removed this as it was an anonymous edit from an IP address with 11 blocks for vandalism since that change was made in May. Ttwaring 00:48, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Women in Space
Shouldn't McAuliffe be removed from the category "Women in Space" since she never actually made it into space? ThreeBlindMice 23:38, 11 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I concur, & came here with the same question. Now that I see you've posed it to no objection (for over a month), I'm going to remove her.  --mordicai. 18:00, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, They did make it out of the earth's surface which caused the explosion but it did not kill them —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.145.79.57 (talk) 03:57, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Arab Americans
I cannot find any information that would indicate that Christa McAuliffe belongs to the category "Arab Americans". If anybody knows of a reference for this can you please provide it? Thanks. ThreeBlindMice 23:51, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

She was in fact an Arab American. Here are some links that reference that fact.   


 * Thanks for providing the links. ThreeBlindMice 23:18, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Grace George Corrigan in her book says her father was Lebanese. She says he died young in an automobile accident while she was either a baby or a toddler. There is a raging debate among the Lebanese Christians about their "Arab" character. Some emphasize their Phoenician or even their Greek, Crusader, Roman, or Aramaic ancestry. On the other hand, they speak the Arabic language and have contributed mightily to Arabic literature and the formation of Arab consciousness. Some of the rejection of the Arab label may be a reaction to the Palestine Wars. The Syriac or Aramaic language which is used by the Maronite Church and some branches of the Eastern Orthodox church is cognate to Arabic. It is also the percusor to the Arabic and Hebrew as well as the Hindu scripts. Arab is a cultural concept. Just as English culture. A Jamaican or Pakistani is immersed in English culture but he is not genetically an 18th Century Englishman. A Lebanese or Egyptian is an Arab but not necessarily a genetic Hejaz Arabian. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 15:56, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Plagiarism
This entry is almost entirely taken from []. It is copyrighted. Please fix the immediately before action is taken. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.163.222.28 (talk).
 * Both this article and the www.framingham.com text are taken from her NASA bio (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/Biographies/challenger.html). This text is under public domain, per standard NASA procedure.  I have removed the tag.  Check your histories more carefully, and remember to sign. Michaelbusch 06:43, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately no one appears to have specified that anywhere here or in the article before you. While there is obviously no legal reason when a public domain source is used, it's still a very good idea to specify sources to make it easier for editors to know where it came from 203.109.240.93 11:13, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Confusing

 * Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe (September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986), better known simply as Christa McAuliffe, and prior to her marriage, Christa Corrigan

This is a bit confusing. Was her maiden name really Christa Corrigan or was it Sharon Christa Corringan? The article currently suggests it was the former but I suspect it was the later (altho she still prefered her middle name) 203.109.240.93 11:16, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Teacher in Space Program
This article says Barbara Morgan will teach the same lessons intended for Christa in the 1986 mission. The Teacher in Space article says otherwise. Which is correct? 74.137.181.0 07:57, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Christa's Anscestry
Irish-Lebanese American. I made the following edit.
 * ... McAuliffe was the oldest of five children of Edward (deceased) and Grace George Corrigan. Her mother, born Grace George, is of Maronite Lebanese origin through her father and is a niece of historian Philip Hitti.
 * the first time carelessly w/o the citation. Usually, when a cite is missing, a citation needed request is put in. But it was deleted. Fair enough I guess. I sourced the fact, then it was deleted again with the tag line that it was not relevant. Since when is bio info not relevant in a bio article. It is relevant to her bio that Christa is a quarter Lebanese American. Just as it is relevant to Guv Richardson's bio that he's part Native American, Sen George Mitchell that he's Irish-Lebanese or Barack Obama that he's American-Kenyan. So what now an edit wheel with someone with a revert button? Godspeed John Glenn! Will 22:30, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I left a message on his talk page as well as here and he has failed to respond. I have tried to avoid an edit war. I will now restore the edit. Below is the history.
 * (cur) (last) 21:47, 9 July 2007 Valrith (Talk | contribs) (13,797 bytes) (rv - none of which is relevant to this article)
 * 1) (cur) (last) 20:47, 9 July 2007 Will314159 (Talk | contribs) (14,017 bytes) (Grace George wrote about all this in her book but here is further documentation in this otherwise as noted undocumented article)
 * 2) (cur) (last) 20:15, 9 July 2007 Valrith (Talk | contribs) (13,797 bytes) (rv - restore last version by Mika1h)
 * 3) (cur) (last) 01:58, 9 July 2007 Will314159 (Talk | contribs) (13,934 bytes) (→Early life - info about her mother, a nation of immigrants)
 * Godspeed John Glenn! Will 14:37, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I've "failed to respond"? You leave a message on my talk page and wait not even a day and think that qualifies as a failure to respond on my part? Sheesh. I reiterate: Her mother's birth name and who her uncle is are worthless trivia that will be scrapped. If you want to write an article on her mother, fine, but don't expect to include it in this one. Valrith 21:04, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

@ ValrithThat she's quarter Lebanese and a niece of a noted scholar is not trivia. her mother's birthname is corroboration in an article that offers few sources. I did wait nearly a day and started a discussion on the talk page, much more than you did. I didn't do a kneejerk revert. In these days after 9.11 and rampant ant-Arabism, it is very notable that an American hero is also an Arab American. You should look to your agenda before doing your knee jerk deletions based on conclusory taglines. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 00:23, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Greetings - I tried to update categories to identify this subject as "Arab American" but received a message that this was edited out and "not constructive". There are numerous sources identifying Christa McAuliffe as an individual of Arab ancestry, including the Arab American Institute. 
 * For the sake of accuracy and simplicity, this article only lists the direct categories listed by the Corrigan reference on page 21 of "Corrigan, Grace George (2000), A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803264119"; accordingly, I think it is more accurate to keep the specific category "Lebanese Americans" rather than replace it with "Arab American". Thanks, --Jh12 (talk) 09:22, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Father
Is it necessary to mention that her father is deceased? I don't think I've seen that in other Wiki bios. I will remove that word. If you think it should be included, explain here. JBFrenchhorn (talk) 20:51, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Biography assessment rating comment
WikiProject Biography Assessment Drives

Want to help write or improve biographies? Check out WikiProject Biography Tips for writing better articles. —Yamara ✉  01:33, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Unconfirmed
I have removed the following information from the Legacy section. Some of it is too much trivia or may not be notable enough for an article concentrating on Christa McAuliffe and her life. The rest is unsourced and possibly unverifiable. --Jh12 (talk) 18:59, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

In the And Now A Word From Us Kids section in the PBS Kids TV series Arthur episode Locked In The Library, the kids in this section sing a song about heroes and heroines. They mention her along with "she went into space". She did not actually go into space due to the Challenger disaster.

The McAuliffe star system in the Wing Commander computer game series is named for her. The spaceship on the children's science-fiction series Space Cases, about a group of students lost in space, was called the "Christa". She is mentioned in the Dan Brown book Deception Point. There were many cartoons that honored McAuliffe. One such tribute is when cartoon characters, such as the Animaniacs, put up a statue of McAuliffe on display.

Many states honor teachers in Christa McAuliffe's name. Beginning one year after the explosion, the Nebraska McAuliffe Prize has honored a Nebraska teacher for courage and excellence in education. Winners receive a $1000 cash prize and a plaque featuring Christa McAuliffe's picture and a picture of a mural by Jeanne Reynal entitled, "The Blizzard of '88". This mural hangs in the north wing of the Nebraska state capitol building and depicts another courageous Nebraska teacher, Minnie Freeman, who led her students to safety during the "Schoolhouse Blizzard" of 1888.