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Probably only a few of us left.
- Thread starter magoo66
- Start date
Sure wish something like that had been available to me in the 10th grade. I was decent in math until pre-algebra where I had a drunk for a teacher who sounded like Mushmouth from Bill Cosby. I couldn't understand half of what she said. Never really got back on track after that with math.
You are awesome! Having that kind of impact on a grandchild is off the charts. I wish I wasn’t so far from mine. I moved to Georgia, planted my family there, then moved away.
My story was similar. Teachers have an impact on us that lasts a lifetime. Good or bad.
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I could make many comments here, sadly they would not be good ones. You guys have summed up most of them very well.
Raised in a middle class family, one of 6 kids, my parents could not indulge in our material whims and desires. Thus, from an early age I learned to get discarded stuff from wherever, and repair/restore it for myself. I can remember my first bicycle, the little Fiat 600, a Murphy radio hitched to a Philips turntable, a Honda 50, and the list goes on. All this in my high school days. Later, I graduated from engineering college but I believe all the engineering I know comes from my need to excel hands-on in every practical field of life. My kids did learn a wee bit by helping now and then, but they just don't have the patience and pride it takes. Simpler to just search on Google and call a handyman. I think it's a lost (or dying) art now and I'm the dodo bird in my family. Lovely to hear all your stories guys. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Didn't have much mechanical experience as a kid, dad worked nights and slept days. If something around the house needed fixed mom did it. Could take a toaster apart with a butter knife, fix it and put it back together and it would work. She was artistic and crafty, sew, paint, draw, ceramics, whatever.
Took Shop class in 7th grade, metal shop one semester, wood shop second semester. hated metal shop, told myself I'm never going to do this and opted for art classes there after through high school.
Developed interest in motorcycles in early teens but never had one till I got out of school, got a job and could buy it myself. Of course it was a British bike and of course it required frequent attention and subsequent rebuilding. That's where I got my real mechanical education.
Got a job in a defense plant doing wiring for rack systems for Navy destroyers and made side money rewiring choppers for guys but always marveled at what they making in the machine shop.
Then while working for a medical instrument manufacturer wiring blood centrifuges and kidney dialysis machines an opportunity to get into the machine shop came up as an apprentice. It was a lateral pay move and provided me opportunity to make special mods and parts for my bike projects so I took it. That was mid 70's
By 1990 I was working for an industrial welding contractor, boiler and pressure vessel repair, and the engineering manager took notice of my ability to build fixturing and my knowledge of machining and related forces and sucked me into the engineering department modifying machining equipment for use in in-situ plant applications.
I got to learn and use CAD and still got to turn handles and make chips. Still doing it to this day and none of it was acquired in school classrooms.
All in all I've had a decent career getting by with only OJT education.
Took Shop class in 7th grade, metal shop one semester, wood shop second semester. hated metal shop, told myself I'm never going to do this and opted for art classes there after through high school.
Developed interest in motorcycles in early teens but never had one till I got out of school, got a job and could buy it myself. Of course it was a British bike and of course it required frequent attention and subsequent rebuilding. That's where I got my real mechanical education.
Got a job in a defense plant doing wiring for rack systems for Navy destroyers and made side money rewiring choppers for guys but always marveled at what they making in the machine shop.
Then while working for a medical instrument manufacturer wiring blood centrifuges and kidney dialysis machines an opportunity to get into the machine shop came up as an apprentice. It was a lateral pay move and provided me opportunity to make special mods and parts for my bike projects so I took it. That was mid 70's
By 1990 I was working for an industrial welding contractor, boiler and pressure vessel repair, and the engineering manager took notice of my ability to build fixturing and my knowledge of machining and related forces and sucked me into the engineering department modifying machining equipment for use in in-situ plant applications.
I got to learn and use CAD and still got to turn handles and make chips. Still doing it to this day and none of it was acquired in school classrooms.
All in all I've had a decent career getting by with only OJT education.
ckahleer
XS650 Addict
One son. 4 grandsons. But no one is intrested. All my skills I have learned and continue learning, will go with me.
"All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain" Blade Runner.
"All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain" Blade Runner.
I feel ya' brother.
Before I retired there was a big push at my company to “mentor” the young guys. I asked about some of the better apprentices and younger guys that I could show some things to but all I ever got was the dregs that none of the bosses buddy’s wanted. When I left I took skills they don’t teach anymore and although it’s a shame I’m sure the workforce will survive and get paid a lot more money to know less.
My daughter, married to the father and really enthusiastic about working with these young ones, like this site mathisfun . Mathisfun is important in every lifestyle choice.. From warehouse material handle to phyisicist, QC tech to dumptruck driver. We all use math (s) in our daily existance. (Spelling too?)
Yes we do however spell check has taken the need to actually learn how to do it and made it non-essential, just like cursive writing. You pretty much don’t need to know math either you can just ask your phone. At least when we were “cheating” with calculators when they came out you at least had to know the steps of an equation.
Unfortunately there were no calculators in my time, and for the engineering degree we used the Slide Ruler and Log Tables. Wonder how many people would recognise these today? I still have my Faber Castell slider as a momento from 54 years ago!
