UAP, NHI, and Our Changing Reality

For decades, UFOs have been seen as pure science fiction or fringe curiosity. But today, the term UAP, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, has emerged in mainstream discourse, used by NASA, Congress, and the Department of Defense to describe encounters that defy current scientific understanding. (Remember you can choose to look at the links, your choice.)

For the skeptics out there, we need you. Critical thinking is one of our greatest strengths. Take a look at Chuck Schumer’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Disclosure Act of 2023. That alone should be enough to show that those in power are taking this topic very seriously.

What’s more- these anomalies appear not only in the sky but also in the ocean, space, and even within our consciousness. Major universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and Rice University have launched efforts to study these phenomena.

Even the Vatican, through its observatory and philosophical inquiries, has engaged with questions of extraterrestrial life and cosmic mystery, reflecting the deepening seriousness with which these topics are now being treated.

Nearly every major news outlet now maintains dedicated sections on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Government departments, including the Department of Energy and NASA, have also begun acknowledging their relevance. The 2017 New York Times article was a turning point in bringing this conversation into the mainstream.

In addition to professors, scientists, and journalists beginning to break the silence, The Age of Disclosure feature film with 34 government officials coming forward affirming this is real is set to be released soon. The public conversation is about to grow.

I’d like to acknowledge that this is a lot of information, but I know teachers need their sources and I respect that.

So why does this matter for education?

UAP and NHI aren’t just about mysterious sightings. They are about confronting the limits of our paradigms, about what we assume is real, possible, or knowable. They ask us to reexamine science not as a set of answers, but as a method of ongoing inquiry. They will challenge us to question everything we think we know about reality. They will challenge us to rethink each and every academic subject.

I want to be clear: exploring strange phenomena isn’t about escaping the pressing realities we face—it’s a way to think more critically about them.

We are living through a time of increasing threats to human rights, rising authoritarianism, and deep political polarization. This inquiry into the unknown doesn’t pull me away from those concerns. It sharpens my awareness of power, control, narrative, and who gets to define what’s real.

As a mother, a teacher, and someone committed to justice, I believe we need both kinds of attention: the grounded fight for a more equitable world and the radical curiosity to ask deeper questions about reality.

Educators are uniquely positioned to help students navigate these profound shifts. By creating space for wonder, destigmatizing hard questions, and modeling open inquiry, we can prepare students to engage with the world. Not as it has always been taught, but as it is rapidly evolving, changing, and unfolding.