Hidden Figures Reading Guide

Day 1: Prologue - Chapter 3 (25)

Discussion

• After reading the prologue discuss whether the title is effective.

• Who is the audience for this book? What is its purpose?

• What is the purpose of this chapter? (Hint look at the title)

Question 1 - On page 7 Margaret Lee Shetterly states that "most women with an interest in math were expected to become math teachers." What effect do expectations have on the success of students and the careers they choose? On page 24 Shetterly claims that, "the job at the aeronautical laboratory was something entirely new, something so unusual it hadn't been dreamed of yet." What effect do goals and dreams have on students and the careers they choose?

Question 2 - Look at the covers below and compare them to the cover of the edition we are reading. Which one does a better job of compelling you to purchase the book? Why? Who is the audience for the different covers. Include details about the image and design to support your answer.

Day 2: Chapter 4 - Chapter 6 (22)

Discussion

• Dorothy's decision to leave her children to take the job at NACA was difficult. Discuss the factors that led to this decision.

• pg. 34 Discuss the irony of a country that wants to fight for the freedom yet denies those freedoms to some of its citizens.

• pg. 37 Discuss what is meant by defending "the Constituion of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

• pg. 38 You can discuss this at any point in the book when there is a quote. If you look in the back of the book there is a section called "Source Notes." Any time a quote the source is list here even if the author mentions it in the text. Also discuss that all photos have a credit in the caption. This will be important when we start our project.

Question 1 - The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. Considering what you have read in the book so far, your personal experience, and any research you do, what do you think should become of affirmative action programs?

Question 2 - America celebrated VE Day on May 8th 1945, and VJ Day on September of that same year. Have we or will we ever celebrate the second V as James Thompson describes "over our enemies within. For surely those who perpetrate these ugly prejudices here are seeking to destroy our democratic form of government just as surely as the Axis forces?" Do people of color enjoy the "four freedoms" as Franklin Roosevelt describes them below?

Day 3: Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 (23)

Discussion

The townspeople would refer to NACA employees as "brain busters," "NACA nuts," or "weirdos." (51). Discuss how others perception of a choice can influence you.

Discuss the implications of being "responsible" for the "final bombing of Japan." In the context of the NACA director's speech it was obviously meant to be positive, but how has that changed over the years? Discuss the tone of the entire chapter. What attitude does the author have toward the subject of the chapter?

Discuss that the "Rosie" image is still being used today to represent women's rights and was seen frequently in the recent Women's March.

Question 1 - Does the phrase "women's work" have a place in our society today? Do we need to say that we had a "male nurse" or "female doctor"? Do the girls athletic teams need to be called the "lady lions"? Do we do the same thing with race and ethnicity?

Day 4: Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 (21)

Discussion

Discuss the cold war and the red scare. How did it affect the civil rights movement? Are there any parallels today?

Question 1- How does this quote from Benjamin Franklin apply to the situation the West computers found themselves in? "If you wou’d not be forgotten As soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. " Do you agree with Franklin's sentiment?

Question 2 - On page 85 Shetterly states that "the women the best way to fight discrimination at work was to do there work as well as they possibly could." Do you agree? How should we fight discrimination?

Day 5: Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 (17)

Discussion

Discuss the picture on page 89. Is there significance to Mary being on the edge/fringe of the group? How do the images in our textbooks affect our view of history. Does the decision to include or exclude a photo have the same affect as using photoshop?

Pg. 97 "As it turned out, most of the white students welcomed Katherine, and some went out of their way to be friendly." Current discussion of politics tends to be hyperbolic (Holden's Opinion) and ignores exceptions to the extremes of left and right. Does the existence of a pocket of racial harmony in the 1940s surprise you?

Pg. 92 "having the independence of mind and strength of personality to defend your work in front of the most powerful aeronautical minds in the world - - that's what go you noticed." Should you stand out in a crowd, or duck and cover?

Question 1 - On page 88 Shetterly states that "Most African Americans were . . . wearing a mask that kept the from saying what they really meant." This echoes the sentiments of Paul Laurence Dunbar in his poem We Wear The Mask. Read the poem linked here and discuss the concept of the mask as it is used in the book and in your own life.

Question 2 - On page 100 Katherine is unsure how to interpret the actions of the white male engineer that got up and moved as soon as she sat down. Was he being racist? Sexist? Elitist? Or did he just have to go to the bathroom? How would you have reacted in the situation? Try and include similar incidents from your life or other things you have read.

Day 6: Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 (21)

Discussion

On pg. 107 Shetterly states that Katherine felt like she was living the American Dream. What is the American Dream? How does it affect our lives?

Pg. 108 Katherine is quoted talking to the principal after her husband died. saying, "It is very important that you don't show the girls any special treatment, or let up on them in any way. They are going to college, and they need to be prepared." Is Katherine being too harsh?

Pg. 112-113 People often complain that the world changes too fast. From one generation to the next technology, jobs, and knowledge become obsolete. Is this good or bad for society? Is there anything we can do? Should we do anything?

What is the Cold War? (pg 115)

Pg. 116 Not only did the women in this book face discrimination because of their skin color, but also because of their gender.

Question 1 - Why did Shetterly include the story in the section "A Bumpy Ride"? Consider the title. Why did she choose that as the title for the section? What does it mean?

Question 2 - We are constantly faced with the possibility that our jobs can be done by machines. When this happens, what is the proper course of action. Remember to give examples from the text and your experience to prove your point.

Day 7: Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 (19)

Discussion

Talk about the "space race" and "arms race." The video below is about the duck and cover drills.

On pg 126 the Chicago Defender argued that segregated schools were keeping many of the best mathematician and scientists on the sidelines. A similar argument was made about Major League Baseball records. How can you say someone was the best pitcher when they didn't even have to face the best competition. Does America suffer when we sideline talent because of prejudice?

Question 1 - Watch the video below entitled "Nina Simone: To Be Young, Gifted and Black." How does that affect your opinion of what you just read?

Day 8: Chapter 17 - Chapter 19 (21)

Discussion

pg. 143 "the high hurdle of low expectations" This is not first time we have tackled the idea of goals and expectations. George W. Bush once spoke of the "soft bigotry of low expectations." What do these two phrases mean?

Discuss the irony that Katherine integrated the editorial meetings, but the public schools of Virginia refused to to do the same thing for children.

Question 1 This article is about a NASA dedication ceremony for a building named after Katherine Johnson. In the book Shetterly talks about how important it was for Katherine to get here name on a report. Why is is so important to have our names on things? What can you learn about a society by the names of the buildings and streets in the community?

Questions 2 I often hear students complain because they are learning things that they will never use. We can't prepare you for every eventuality. I am guessing that Katherine Johnson never learned launch trajectory in high school or college or Mary Jackson never learned to building a soap box car yet they ended up needing those skills. In fact given the expectations of the time they probably didn't need higher level math, but they had the foundation to build on and become engineers and mathematicians. It seems that it is more often the case in school that we don't learn what we need, but instead a foundation on which to build. Do you think students should learn a little about all subjects, or should we just teach the skills necessary to work at a job?

Day 9: Chapter 20 - Chapter 21 (26)

Discussion

Chapter 20 juxtaposes the civil rights movement with the space race. How do you think each group saw each other? For one perspective, listen to the Gil Scott-Heron poem Whitey on the Moon below.

Discuss national heroes. Who are the heroes today? Are they the same as they used to be? Do we even have national heroes anymore?

Question 1 - View the slideshow below. These are all images of mission control during different decades. What do you notice about these pictures? When creating textbooks and promotional materials what responsibility does the publisher have when choosing images? Do they need to be diverse? Is it altering history or correcting history? If images are worth a thousand words then you should be able to come up with a few hundred to explain the impact of these pictures.

Day 10: Chapter 22 - Chapter 23 (15)

Discussion

What role does history play in the future?

What role do you have in history?

Does history exist if it is not recorded?

Question 1 Why did the author and publisher include the Timeline, Glossary, and Further Reading sections?

Question 2 Look at the Source Notes. What does that tell you about the amount of work that went into writing this book.

final Assessment

Choose any of the prompts below and write a paragraph (or more) for your answer. You will be graded on content (opinion, support, explanation) and writing (voice, sentence fluency, and spelling/grammar).

• Hidden Figures uncovers the story of the women whose work at NACA and NASA helped shape and define U.S. space exploration. Taken as a whole, why is their story significant to our cultural, social, and scientific history?

• In what ways does the race for space parallel the civil rights movement? What kinds of freedoms are being explored in each?

• In Chapter 23 we learned that some people thought that spending money on space exploration was wasteful when there were so many other problems in the United States. Do you think the U.S. achieved a balance between innovation in space exploration and advancing the civil rights of all its citizens during this time period? Would you have done things differently?

• Would you consider NACA and NASA socially progressive institutions for their time? Why or why not?

• In advocating for herself to work on the Mercury capsule launch, Katherine says to her bosses, “Tell me where you want the man to land, and I’ll tell you where to send him up.” How are the women in Hidden Figures able to express confidence in their work and abilities? In what ways is that confidence validated by their coworkers? Why is this emotional experience such an important part of their story?