Lifelong Habits

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

My LOML and I were talking about lifelong habits we learned from our teachers (and not from family). What are some daily or regular habits you have held with you because you learned them from a teacher?

Here are 2 of mine I would not be doing if not for my teachers.

Freshman year: A teacher had a daughter in Senior class who was captain of cheerleading. He talked to us kids like he would his own daughter and we all looked up to him. He sat on his desk one day while bad stuff had been on the local news and told all the girls to never leave a building and go to a parking lot without their car keys in their hand. To never rummage through their purse for keys while standing at their car. He told everyone to keep their car keys separate from their house keys so that if you lost one, you didn't lose them all. Last, was to hold your car keys in your hand when you shut the car door so you didn't lock them inside. To this day I can zip my car keys in my coat pocket with the intention of closing the door, but cannot close that door until I put the key back in my hand!

Sophomore year: Some sort of mandatory Home Ec/Adult Living class. Marvelous teacher. At some point the class topic was grocery shopping and cooking basic meals. During the baking lessons, we made stuff like scones and yellow cake from scratch. She was very firm that once we mixed the ingredients and put them in the oven, we had to clean up our mess and wash the dishes and put them away while baking. (I know the real reason she had us do this was so the classroom was ready for the next class but ...) From that time forward, I feel compelled to clean up immediately when I do any baking, yet I can let the breakfast skillet wait until it's time to wash evening dishes.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Mama taught to wash up dishes as you cooked, so only the last used was left to be cleaned up after a meal. Still do that. Can't stand to leave a dirty kitchen when taking food out. Couple years back, while visiting SIL, she commented how she missed our MIL washing and drying dishes and talking as she cooked. Reminded her that now I was was doing the same for her.

[Jim Koepke]

One of my pre-teen habits was nail biting. A friend's father told me he would give me a quarter as soon as he saw my nails had grown out. This was like 1958 when to a young boy a quarter meant five chocolate bars or some other sweet treasures.

Over the years we drifted apart, but my nail biting habit was broken. The lesson has been worth more to me than a quarter ever could be.

Another was in a summer school study class. The instructor told us it is best to start with the hardest tasks and work toward the more pleasant or easier tasks. This has helped me many times.

jtk

[James Pallas]

At 14 I went to work as a plumbers helper. The mechanic I was assigned to was a stickler for the proper tool for the work. You never used the wrong tool. The worst dress down I ever got from him was because I used my channel locks to tap a pipe over to get through a stud. I was told I was a lazy abuser of tools and a few other things. And then the lecture, "You will injure yourself or me. You will damage the tool. You will damage the work. Because of your laziness." To this day I instantly feel the guilt if I even think about hitting something with anything other than a hammer or something similar. The right tool for the job no matter what the task, working, cooking cleaning etc. etc. No turning screws with a butter knife around me because I will show you some kind of crazy.
Jim

[Carlos Alvarez]

At 14 I went to work as a plumbers helper. The mechanic I was assigned to was a stickler for the proper tool for the work. You never used the wrong tool. The worst dress down I ever got from him was because I used my channel locks to tap a pipe over to get through a stud. I was told I was a lazy abuser of tools and a few other things. And then the lecture, "You will injure yourself or me. You will damage the tool. You will damage the work. Because of your laziness." To this day I instantly feel the guilt if I even think about hitting something with anything other than a hammer or something similar. The right tool for the job no matter what the task, working, cooking cleaning etc. etc. No turning screws with a butter knife around me because I will show you some kind of crazy.
Jim

Wow, what a terrible thing to "teach" someone. Sheesh. It's really lazy to just jump on absolutes like that instead of teaching you when it actually is reasonable, such as tapping in a pipe with a set of Channel Locks.

I think one of the things I remember well from my dad is putting my left hand in my back pocket while reaching into anything that *might* have electricity in it. He ran a TV repair shop when I was young, and I worked on all kinds of electronics as well as general electrical work in various places. The normal instinct is to hold onto the chassis (grounded) or box (grounded) which would complete a circuit if you made a mistake. It's like gun safety; you only get hurt by electricity if you screw up multiple precautions, and this was one of them.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Great stories.

I agree Jim, the quarter was great incentive to get you on the right path that no one in you family had changed yet.

James, that's a very valuable lifelong lesson you learned. The first time I had a kidney stone I had to ride it out alone on a gurney in the ER hallway while everyone attended to some guy that nearly severed his thumb while using garden shears to try to open a padlock. By the time they finally checked on me, I had already gone through the worst of it. My LOML was taught a similar rule as a teen working in a manufacturing shop where employees were breaking tools all the time because they were using the wrong one. You use the right tool for the job; and if you have to borrow a tool from someone 2 times, the 3rd time you need to borrow it, you buy one for yourself.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Lots of habits from several sources.

After using a tool it gets cleaned, sharpened, and put back where it belongs. My Dad's penalty for not doing so was banishment from the shop for a week up to a month depending on the seriousness of the offense.

All firearms are loaded regardless of what anyone says until personally proven otherwise. Courtesy of USMC Recruit Depot Parris Island SC 1968

In dealing with a bureaucracy three rules: never take a low level no, there is a waiver for everything, and it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.

[Ken Combs]

Lots of habits from several sources.

After using a tool it gets cleaned, sharpened, and put back where it belongs. My Dad's penalty for not doing so was banishment from the shop for a week up to a month depending on the seriousness of the offense.

All firearms are loaded regardless of what anyone says until personally proven otherwise. Courtesy of USMC Recruit Depot Parris Island SC 1968

In dealing with a bureaucracy three rules: never take a low level no, there is a waiver for everything, and it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Similar to that, one of my instructors put it this way: Never accept a no from a person who isn't enpowered to say yes. In other words, escalate the issue to the correct management level.

[James Pallas]

Wow, what a terrible thing to "teach" someone. Sheesh. It's really lazy to just jump on absolutes like that instead of teaching you when it actually is reasonable, such as tapping in a pipe with a set of Channel Locks.

I think one of the things I remember well from my dad is putting my left hand in my back pocket while reaching into anything that *might* have electricity in it. He ran a TV repair shop when I was young, and I worked on all kinds of electronics as well as general electrical work in various places. The normal instinct is to hold onto the chassis (grounded) or box (grounded) which would complete a circuit if you made a mistake. It's like gun safety; you only get hurt by electricity if you screw up multiple precautions, and this was one of them.

strange to me that you would say that Carlos. The man was by far the best mechanic in the shop the cleanest work and the fastest to boot. That lesson was learned that day and it has lasted a lifetime for me. My tools are clean in good repair always and I always try to use the proper tool for the work. I started buying tools at that time and I just gave some of my heavier tools to son in law that I bought at 16 or so because I remember buying them. Some of the shine was worn off but they weren't hammered on rusted. I am greatful to have had such a teacher.
Jim

[Carlos Alvarez]

Interesting. I guess we all look at things differently. I have no qualms about intelligently using the wrong tools. And coming from Cuba, we had to learn to intelligently use a lot of wrong tools to get things done. I think it's more valuable to know when to or not to violate "rules" than to just follow them.

[Frederick Skelly]

An old, kindly, utterly dedicated teacher taught me that I could learn almost anything if I was willing to work hard at it. She was right. And I've proven that over and over and over again. She died a few years after I had her for class and I never got to tell her so, or thank her. But I remember the lesson well.

[Frederick Skelly]

I think it's more valuable to know when to or not to violate "rules" than to just follow them.

Good point. Until you said this, I never fully understood our Tasmanian friend Wayne's signature here, which reads "To bend the rules, you must first master the rules". I think I get it now Wayne. Thanks Carlos!

[Carlos Alvarez]

Hah, never noticed that, but it sounds like something I say: I like to know what the rules are before I ignore them.

[Charlie Velasquez]

Mike, I learned what I think is my most valuable lesson from a college professor, but in a negative way.

In the last weeks of my last semester of my elementary education degree, a math methods instructor was waxing philosophically on the importance of getting to know your students personally. He stated we should have a home visit with each student's family and maybe a dinner/snack -that we should bring. And, we should try to complete this within the first quarter of the year. Besides the knowledge we gain of the students' home life, the personal touch builds a parents-teacher bond that gets the parents more vested in the child's education.

I asked, if we had a large student population, say 60 or more, if a social gathering, like a potluck might be an alternative. He became very agitated, and ridiculed my question with something like, "Sixty?! Why not make it eighty?? Why not a hundred?!" and a more words that I can't remember because I was so embarrassed. Then he ignored the question and went on with other topics.

See, in the 70's in elementary school, classes were self-contained. One teacher taught all the academic subjects, and class sizes were usually 20-25 kids. He did not know that I had just been offered a job upon graduation in an elementary that was going to departmentalize in the upper grades. I would teach all the math classes in fifth and sixth grades, plus the identified gifted fourth graders (plus some science classes), about 80 different students.

That stuck with me. I have never put a student down for a question or comment. If I think it doesn't make sense, I remind myself that while it doesn't make sense to me; it probably makes perfect sense to the student. So, I ask questions till it makes sense to me.

Sometimes the comment/question really doesn't make sense. That is when I have to work even harder, asking more questions till the student starts to see, then the light goes on and they say something like, "Oh, wait, I meant to say ..." or similar.
Never leave them hanging in front of their classmates.

Getting the students to the point they are not afraid to give a wrong answer in front of classmates was probably the single strongest teaching technique I had going for me. It opened insights into the minds of how the students figured things out.

[Marc Jeske]

I did not totally thoroughly read all above posts this time......But the end of day results are... Our young years are DEFINITELY our Formative years.

I had two new to me carpenter type fellows working here today, both were "young" in experience.... every time I gave a very valid suggestion, one of them said "Yessir"

I told him "You don't have to call me Sir"

He said, with his extreme Southern accent "My Daddy would always slap me if I did not say "Sir".

I felt very bad that he had this apparent rigid upbringing.

I told him..even raised in MN, NOT in the South... AND never been in The Service, that I, MYSELF,do that often also..address another Man as "Sir" usually, at least usually.

And a Lady as 'Ma'am".

It is out of genuine loving "My Neighbor" as commanded (I view it as "Asked" by the WAYYYY smarter than myself Father")respect in my mind, especially for an older man,.. but ALSO for a younger Man to show Respect.

AND to all Ladie's.

Anyway, as psyco educated people know.. We all ALL formed in our early years...and then act on that our balance of life.

Like TOTALLY, FEW exceptions.

Somewhere ( I won't say where for fear of being deleted.......it CLEARLY says the "sins of the
Fathers will carry to the young'uns.)

PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS - See, I originally thought The Big Guy meant that to punish US for previous Sins.

THEN, as I got older, ....I re understood it's NOT that at ALL....Not at ALLLL.

What it meant was our Parents and upbringing instilled all GOOD AND BAD they had.

And BOTH carried on in ALL of US.

And BOTH TOTALLY affect how we THINK, ACT hence LIVE... the entire rest remaining balance of our lives.

ALL the re playings of recordings in EVERYONE'S mind, both Encouraging , or DISCOURAGING (as I mostly had)

Steer Us ALL if we accept them.

Marc