Hidden Figures Lesson Plan

What surprises Mary about Hampton High School when she is given special permission to take classes there? How is Sputnik linked to the state of education in the U.S.?

Mary is shocked to find that Hampton High School is an old, musty, dilapidated building - it is not in much better of a state than the Black schools she attended. Mary can't believe white people fought so hard to keep Black people out of such a rundown structure. By maintaining separate parallel education systems throughout the country, the end result is that no school gets enough resources. The system is inefficient and gives the short end of the stick to not only Black citizens but poor white...