Father recalls lessons beyond the classroom

As I sit here at the end of my first year as an instructor, I can't help but reflect on the important role education has played in my life.

Of course, there are many different types of education and ways we learn. Only a small part involves a teacher and a classroom. Some of the most lasting lessons a student will learn come from the social and emotional connections formed through experience.

My dad has provided me with many such experiences throughout my life. Some he may not remember because they were likely small stops on the journey of parenthood. Nonetheless, they have made a lasting impression on my life and helped form some of the methods I use when teaching students in my classes.

One of the fondest educational moments my dad gave me involved a trip to Center of Science and Industry in Columbus. I was 8 or 9 years old and got a small motor kit from the gift shop when we left. I don't recall having any particular interest in electricity at the time and have no idea what possessed me to want a motor, but I did.

The kit consisted of a small rotor with a couple permanent magnets, stator, reversing switch, battery and a roll of winding wire. The fledgling engineer (or their attentive father) would need to assemble all these parts to make a direct current motor. I suspect my dad may have got more joy out of putting that little motor together than I did.

The real education that afternoon didn't come from learning how to construct a motor or even how to use an electromagnet to create torque. No, the lasting lesson was when my dad explained to me how a generator is basically a motor working in reverse. At the time I didn't understand and just took his word for it. Now over 30 years later as I teach electrical engineering technology classes, that simple explanation is 100% correct. There were no textbooks. Our classroom that afternoon was at the kitchen table, and my dad was my teacher.

There are countless other examples of times when my dad taught me valuable lessons I have embedded deep in my heart. Some are technical and practical. Some are more of the soft skills of life. All taught me what it is to be a man, a husband, how to provide for my family and how to show love to those around me. I am grateful for the education my dad gave me that money can't buy. I'm proud to have such a great mentor who I also get to call Dad.

This column was written by Earl Grogro from the Coshocton County Fatherhood Initiative.