I'm a realist and a scientist and a teacher....

In 1985, Mike Farmer was one of 112 semifinalists to be the first civilian educator to travel in space on the space shuttle.   The educator who was chosen to make the trip was Christa McAuliffe.   The Space Shuttle Challenger with Christa McAuliffe on board exploded soon after take off in 1986.  Christa was hailed as a hero and rightfully so.

Every teacher who followed their passion, defied the odds, and applied for the space mission was also a hero.

Here's an excerpt from a news article in 2003:

But Michael H. Farmer, a physics teacher in Greenville, S.C., argued that putting a teacher in space was a rational risk.
"I'm a realist and a scientist and a teacher—and throughout history, any time we do exploration we have tragedy," he said. "We can start with Lewis and Clark, and Magellan, and anyone you want to—when you venture into the unknown, you're going to have casualties."
Mr. Farmer, 60, is preparing his own educator mission specialist application, which must be filed with NASA by April 30.
Though his age might make him an unlikely astronaut candidate to some people, Mr. Farmer was one of the 112 semifinalists in 1985 for the original Reagan-era program, and time has not cooled his passion for space.
Now teaching science to gifted and talented students at South Carolina's 250-student Governor's School for the Arts, he said teaching from space would forge new connections between science and the arts.
He said he tells his students now, "If you experience the universe using only your five senses, you're going to miss most of it."

Read the full article at 

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2003/02/12/22nasa.h22.html