A Smile as Big as the Moon on ABC

By catherine Nailog

Teachers can make a difference in a child’s life.  They challenge, encourage, and motivate one to become a better version of oneself.  The story of such a teacher, Mike Kersjes, was found on  the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie A Smile as Big as the Moon, which aired on ABC Sunday, January 29, at 9:00 p.m. (ET),. This program has been chosen as the Best TV Show of the Week for its inspirational story of a teacher’s enduring commitment to his students, and providing a delightful viewing experience for the whole family.

In the late ‘80s, Mike Kersjes was a special education teacher and football coach for Forest Hills Northern High School in Michigan.  His special education students suffered from learning disabilities that included Tourette’s syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), dyslexia, autism, anger management problems, and more.  On a field trip to the planetarium, Mike had became interested in his students attending space camp at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.  With the help of his co-teacher Robynn McKinney, they set out to make it happen.

Initially, Mike became discouraged when the space camp director, Dr. Barnhart, informed him that they had no programs for special education students.  The camp was designed for educationally advanced students interested in space.  Nonetheless, Mike submitted a proposal for his students to attend. His ceaseless determination allowed him and Robynn to visit the camp and make a personal plea to Colonel Weschler, who had the final decision.  However, Mike and Robynn needed permission from the principal, Tom Keller, to attend.  Tom wouldn’t give his permission out of financial and emotional concerns should the students fail.  Undeterred, Mike presented his case to the school board, whose president happened to be a parent of Ben, one of Mike’s students.  Fortunately, the school board provided an opportunity for Mike and Robynn to make their case to Colonel Weschler.

Mike and Robynn traveled to the space camp and met with Dr. Barnhart who provided a preview of the demands of space camp.  Dr. Barnhart was skeptical that their students were up to the challenge.  Even Robynn and Mike became somewhat intimidated at the camp’s requirements, but they still made a heartwarming and persuasive proposal to Colonel Weschler.

The trip was a success.  Mike and Robynn informed their students that they were going to space camp.  The next step was to raise $50,000 for the students to attend.  They held a bake sale and a car wash to raise funds.  Mike also applied for numerous grants, but received rejections one after another.  Mike and Robynn also had one year to prepare the students for the curriculum they would face at camp, in addition to their normal schoolwork.  It was challenging for the teachers and the students, but all were very excited for the opportunity.

The students also had to remain well-behaved, or the principal would end their dreams of space camp. This was difficult for the special needs students because they were constantly bullied by other students; their school lockers were jammed shut so that they couldn’t open them and they were taunted. Stephanie’s (who was dubbed “Sasquatch”) pie was defaced during home economics class, which caused a food fight among the students. Mike’s advice to Stephanie was to overcome other people’s ugliness.  Mike grew tired of his students being bullied.  He had his football players lead the way in portraying positive behavior toward the special needs students, because in doing so the rest of the school would follow.

Meanwhile, the fundraising wasn’t going very well.  Mike went to Big Dan’s Burger Shed where Ben and Scott, another student of his, worked.  He spoke to Big Dan about the problems he was having in fundraising.  Big Dan gave Mike a check for $1000, which made Mike choke on the burger he was eating at the time. 

The space camp curriculum was a challenge for Mike and Robynn because they weren’t sure how to teach the information that was required.  With the help of his wife, Mike came up with the idea of a board game.  He created a large board game for his class to play.  Louis, who suffered from dyslexia and anger issues but was artistically gifted, thought Mike’s board game was dull and boring.  Mike gave him paper and had him create another.  Louis’ version was much more colorful and exciting.

Also, Mike and Robynn had to teach the students to build a tetrahedron while underwater.  With a football player’s help, they discovered who their strong swimmers were.  But the students fought and needed help on teamwork.  Mike had asked his student, Scott, to be the leader of the team, but Scott felt that he wasn’t much of a leader.  With more grant rejections coming in, Mike was far from reaching his $50,000 goal.  Mike visited Dan at The Burger Shed.  Ben and Scott had told Dan about their fundraising difficulties.  Dan gave Mike a $50,000 check.

Mike, Robynn, and the students entered camp proudly wearing shirts that read, “Big Dan’s Burger Shed.”  The group was in awe of the camp.  Each student received their very own flight suit.  The students tried out a Reduced Gravity Simulator (RGS), a Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT), and other things.  Big Dan’s team triumphed in building the tetrahedron underwater, in answering the question-and-answer event, and in the building of a space station. 

The day was long, and the team was getting tired.  The final event for the day was designing a shoulder patch that represented their team and NASA.  Louis was tasked to note everyone’s idea down on paper.  He became anxious and overwhelmed as his teammates started talking over one another.  He grew angry and stormed off.  Mike told the team to be patient with Louis.  As Mike went to check on Louis, Scott and Steve stopped him. Scott told Mike that they didn’t need him.  Scott and Steve went to Louis and convinced him to return. The team apologized to Louis, and they started to work on the patch design.  Louis created an amazing patch of a Burger Shed in space.

The last event for the team was a simulated flight mission.  Mike and Robynn had assigned each team member a role.  Scott was assigned the role as flight director.  He was scared, but grudgingly took the role.  It took a while for each member to comfortably assume his or her role on the mission.  When a system failure was presented to the team, Scott took control, but Stephanie’s recovery was late, causing an error.  The team was dejected.  Scott persuaded Stephanie and the team to move on and complete their mission. The rest of the team’s simulated flight mission was a success.

At the end of space camp, an awards ceremony was held in which Big Dan’s Burger Shed team placed third in patch design; second in space station; and third in flight mission.  The Right Stuff Award was given to Scott who epitomized leadership, respect, and teamwork.  Scott was surprised to receive the award, but was very grateful.  On the bus ride back home, Scott cut up the ribbon attached to his medal.  He gave his teammates a piece of the ribbon including Mike.  Scott believed that “the right stuff” was in each and every one of them.  The team returned home to a welcoming committee of family and friends.

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