OT: Teaching Moments from your experience.

[LionJim]

This might turn out to be a nice thread!

Me sitting in the Gallaudet library reading the newspaper, around 1985, while I was a grad student at Maryland. A former speech professor of mine was checking out a book and I waved when I caught his eye. He does not wave back, but I think nothing of it and turn back to the newspaper. All of a sudden, a rap on my shoulder. (Fun fact: it’s a piece of cake to sneak up on deaf people.) It’s my professor! “Put down that newspaper immediately and get back to your office and back to work!” Not a glimmer of a smile to be found. I put the newspaper down immediately and got back to my office and back to work.

 

[MtNittany]

My best was being next to Arnold at the urinals in the locker room at PGA National. Winnie was born in Williamsport so I started dropping names. We shook hands (no hand washing), and later in the day he told my supervisor he wanted me driving him around to the range and back.

Whoever you meet, you have something in common, but you won't ever know it if you don't speak. Just met a friend of an old friend at the club the other day - Round Hill - Greenwich, Eaglesmere. Put me in touch w/ him in a matter of hours.

 

[LionJim]

My best was being next to Arnold at the urinals in the locker room at PGA National. Winnie was born in Williamsport so I started dropping names. We shook hands (no hand washing), and later in the day he told my supervisor he wanted me driving him around to the range and back.

The mind reels.

 

[razpsu]

This might turn out to be a nice thread!

Me sitting in the Gallaudet library reading the newspaper, around 1985, while I was a grad student at Maryland. A former speech professor of mine was checking out a book and I waved when I caught his eye. He does not wave back, but I think nothing of it and turn back to the newspaper. All of a sudden, a rap on my shoulder. (Fun fact: it’s a piece of cake to sneak up on deaf people.) It’s my professor! “Put down that newspaper immediately and get back to your office and back to work!” Not a glimmer of a smile to be found. I put the newspaper down immediately and got back to my office and back to work.

So you were slacking? He caught you?

 

[MtNittany]

The mind reels.

They called him the King for a reason. One year - different year - Gary Player won the tournament (PGA Seniors). He tipped the entire locker room $50 for the entire week after winning. Arnold found out about it b/c he was tight w/ the locker room attendant who would go on to Bay Hill. A week later a $500 money order arrived from Gary Player.

 

[psuro]

I have told this story before

If you are making a cocktail at home - notably an Old Fashioned - pay close attention to the jar you pull out of the fridge. Because a bottle of red peppers looks very similar to a bottle of red cherries.

 

[s1uggo72]

my first job out of college, Iam teaching at this school.(A former PSU AD is an alum) its my like second day on the job and I am drawn into a Student- Teacher meeting. This is a private school so you have to be invited back each for the the privilege to go there. I wasnt there when the invites went out the previous spring but it seems like this student was not invited back to school, or said another way, kicked out. Fast forward to August and now he is meeting with a teacher and me. (and as new faculty I had nothing) The student is basically yelling at the teacher to have him reinstated. The teacher stood fast and said NFW, most likely in those words. The student was never reinstated.

fast forward about 20 yrs I was working in private business 500 miles away, never having thought about that kid who was kicked out of school, I am reading the paper where it says Art Modell sells the Baltimore ravens to Steven Bisciotti. Yes Steve Bisciotti was the kid kicked out of school. I guess he made something of himself

 

[LionJim]

So you were slacking? He caught you?

The point is when you’re studying for a PhD, it has to be your first priority, period. There’s no time for tv or newspapers or dates or parties. You have to live math. I just barely passed my dissertation defense, it was really touch and go. Maybe there is such a thing as the butterfly effect, who knows?

 

[razpsu]

My experience to pass on.

Create your own luck by working hard and have patience. Some may move up in position before you do even if they do not do things the right way. Don’t worry about it. If you have passion, honesty and integrity. Good things will happen for you.

 

[MtNittany]

Oh - I called Heather Thomas' hotel room on a dare one morning from the golf shop offering a free golf lesson, which she took me up on. It was interesting. She was out all night. I wasn't even on the teaching staff.

 

[Connorpozlee]

Junior year of high school I took music appreciation out of the desperate need for some much needed credits. There were only 5 or 6 of us in the class and it was taught in a closet (larger closet, but still a closet) in the band room. Teacher loved me for a couple of semesters to the point of letting me teach some of the music history stuff and not really doing much classwork. One day at the start of class, she left the room to go get something from another room. I spoke to the kid next to me about the how far along he thought she was into her pregnancy. He said he didn’t think she was pregnant. I knew for sure that she was so when she came back in I asked her. She gave me a death stare, said she wasn’t pregnant, didn’t really speak to me for the rest of the year and I failed the class.
Lesson: Don’t ask any woman if she’s pregnant, ever.

 

[manatree]

Learn the names of the janitors & admin assistants.

 

[Thorndike2021]

Second Lts should ALWAYS consult with their NCOs!

 

[MtNittany]

An aside, back in the day when Rolling Rock ponies were still in Macy's window and $4/case, I had a friend - a Fraternity little sister who was sipping on a Rolling Rock at a function and was immediately spotted by a PSU alum who would wind up giving her the break she needed into the architectural world. She became very successful.

 

[Moogy]

The point is when you’re studying for a PhD, it has to be your first priority, period. There’s no time for tv or newspapers or dates or parties. You have to live math. I just barely passed my dissertation defense, it was really touch and go. Maybe there is such a thing as the butterfly effect, who knows?

Teaching moment: I was once reading an internet thread dedicated to teaching moments, when someone mentioned that you couldn't have any life at all when pursuing a PhD, so I immediately texted my kids "hey, if you ever find yourself thinking about pursuing a PhD ... don't." Lesson learned.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Learning my place. I graduate STATE end of summer, committed to Moms who is back at State for a fifth year. Plan is to get a place after she graduates and get married (which is what we did).
So back to my Lancaster home for her 2 semesters……..with my mother. Dads on a 9 month project out of state, sister is across town newly married, brother is in law school in San Diego. Just me n Mother. For context, moms and I lived together in cedarbrook my last summer.
Mother and I battled hard for a month or 2 and finally Dad took me to lunch to have a talk.
”Son, I love you, but I love your mother more. Quit fighting with her or im tossing you out”.

So 2 lessons as I recall this, not just one.
Lesson 1 is knowing one’s place in the family hierarchy
Lesson 2 is follow your gut. My gut said stay in State College, get a bs full time job continue living with moms. I regret not doing this. It’s akin to not smoking cigs in front of your mother when you’re (I’m) 61 ffs

 

[LionJim]

Teaching moment: I was once reading an internet thread dedicated to teaching moments, when someone mentioned that you couldn't have any life at all when pursuing a PhD, so I immediately texted my kids "hey, if you ever find yourself thinking about pursuing a PhD ... don't." Lesson learned.

It’s earned me a lot of money and security. I’m very fortunate. Plus it’s actually fun, more often than not.

 

[bdgan]

An aside, back in the day when Rolling Rock ponies were still in Macy's window and $4/case, I had a friend - a Fraternity little sister who was sipping on a Rolling Rock at a function and, was immediately spotted by a PSU alum who would wind up giving her the break she needed into the architectural world. She became very successful.

Where were Rolling Rocks at Macy's?

I remember buying the ponies in State college. I think there were 48 in a case. We put them between our window and screen to keep them cold.

 

[LionJim]

Where were Rolling Rocks at Macy's?

I remember buying the ponies in State college. I think there were 48 in a case. We put them between our window and screen to keep them cold.

We’d buy $1.99 six packs and stack them vertically on the edge of the sliding windows in Beam Hall.

 

[BobPSU92]

This might turn out to be a nice thread!

Me sitting in the Gallaudet library reading the newspaper, around 1985, while I was a grad student at Maryland. A former speech professor of mine was checking out a book and I waved when I caught his eye. He does not wave back, but I think nothing of it and turn back to the newspaper. All of a sudden, a rap on my shoulder. (Fun fact: it’s a piece of cake to sneak up on deaf people.) It’s my professor! “Put down that newspaper immediately and get back to your office and back to work!” Not a glimmer of a smile to be found. I put the newspaper down immediately and got back to my office and back to work.

That reminds me of my first year in graduate school. I’m walking to an evening seminar on campus when my research advisor walks beside me on the way to the same seminar. Without thinking (it’s me after all ), I say to him, “How’s it going?” He responds, “I’m supposed to ask you that.” That was the extent of that “conversation”.

 

[razpsu]

Teaching moment: I was once reading an internet thread dedicated to teaching moments, when someone mentioned that you couldn't have any life at all when pursuing a PhD, so I immediately texted my kids "hey, if you ever find yourself thinking about pursuing a PhD ... don't." Lesson learned.

You said it well. I was trying to think of a reply to that but you did it for me. Thank you.

 

[Moogy]

It’s earned me a lot of money and security. I’m very fortunate. Plus it’s actually fun, more often than not.

Law school was intense, and it was definitely a lot more work than I was used to at the time ... but we still all found time to go crazy (finishing up the MBA portion was a comparative nonstop party). Subsequent career choices were similar, where you would work ungodly hours under intense pressure ... but you'd still cut loose every chance you got. If a professor had ever chastised me for reading a newspaper (which actually seems more like work than anything else), I'd have told the dude or dudette to MYOB, unless I was literally "on the clock," as it were. Unless he caught me snorting coke off a hooker's boob, and the hooker was his wife, what I do on my own time is my bidness.

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

Teaching moment: I was once reading an internet thread dedicated to teaching moments, when someone mentioned that you couldn't have any life at all when pursuing a PhD, so I immediately texted my kids "hey, if you ever find yourself thinking about pursuing a PhD ... don't." Lesson learned.

Doubt any branch of your family tree is PhD material

 

[Keyser Soze 16802]

I ran a class in the Forum where 4 professors would each teach 1/4 of the semester

Professor S was always late getting me his exam, there would be mistakes in it, nice guy but arrogant. A real pain in the rear

I was complaining to one of the other 3, Professor M, about Professor S

He said to me, "Keyser, you should be GLAD the world is full of people like Professor S because it makes it easier for YOU to be successful"

That was roughly 35 years ago and I still keep that in mind when dealing with dumbazzes, slackers, etc.

 

[MtNittany]

Where were Rolling Rocks at Macy's?

I remember buying the ponies in State college. I think there were 48 in a case. We put them between our window and screen to keep them cold.

Macy's display windows were legendary and always noticed. One week a recent PSU grad did one of the windows and put ponies in yuppy mannequin's hands and that's when Rolling Rock took off in NYC.

 

[Marshall2323]

Where were Rolling Rocks at Macy's?

I remember buying the ponies in State college. I think there were 48 in a case. We put them between our window and screen to keep them cold.

My love affair with Rolling Rock ponies (ice cold thick glass returnable bottles), began in the summer of 1970. I'd stop at a bar , The Subterranean, in Selinsgrove after dropping my future wife at home near Catawissa. Everything seemed perfect in my life that summer and the sweet nectar from the glass lined tanks of old Latrobe played it's part.

 

[Marshall2323]

I ran a class in the Forum where 4 professors would each teach 1/4 of the semester

Professor S was always late getting me his exam, there would be mistakes in it, nice guy but arrogant. A real pain in the rear

I was complaining to one of the other 3, Professor M, about Professor S

He said to me, "Keyser, you should be GLAD the world is full of people like Professor S because it makes it easier for YOU to be successful"

That was roughly 35 years ago and I still keep that in mind when dealing with dumbazzes, slackers, etc.

I call them "job security. "

 

[Moogy]

Doubt any branch of your family tree is PhD material

 

[G3624]

42 bottles per case

 

[Connorpozlee]

We’d buy $1.99 six packs and stack them vertically on the edge of the sliding windows in Beam Hall.

When I was working at a liquor store on the Jersey shore they were big with people taking boats out to go fishing. I finally asked one lady why the pony bottles as opposed to the 12 oz. She explained that the small bottles didn’t get warm before finishing them and they sunk more easily when you filled with water when you were done.

 

[PSU Mike]

Junior year of high school I took music appreciation out of the desperate need for some much needed credits. There were only 5 or 6 of us in the class and it was taught in a closet (larger closet, but still a closet) in the band room. Teacher loved me for a couple of semesters to the point of letting me teach some of the music history stuff and not really doing much classwork. One day at the start of class, she left the room to go get something from another room. I spoke to the kid next to me about the how far along he thought she was into her pregnancy. He said he didn’t think she was pregnant. I knew for sure that she was so when she came back in I asked her. She gave me a death stare, said she wasn’t pregnant, didn’t really speak to me for the rest of the year and I failed the class.
Lesson: Don’t ask any woman if she’s pregnant, ever.

Corollary: if one ever pisses you off to the utmost level, ask her when the baby is due.

 

[psuro]

Junior year of high school I took music appreciation out of the desperate need for some much needed credits. There were only 5 or 6 of us in the class and it was taught in a closet (larger closet, but still a closet) in the band room. Teacher loved me for a couple of semesters to the point of letting me teach some of the music history stuff and not really doing much classwork. One day at the start of class, she left the room to go get something from another room. I spoke to the kid next to me about the how far along he thought she was into her pregnancy. He said he didn’t think she was pregnant. I knew for sure that she was so when she came back in I asked her. She gave me a death stare, said she wasn’t pregnant, didn’t really speak to me for the rest of the year and I failed the class.
Lesson: Don’t ask any woman if she’s pregnant, ever.

Lesson No. 2: College football message boards are the place to tell people that you were once in the closet.

 

[rudedude]

Spelling and grammar are really important else you wind up a meme!

 

[LionJim]

Spelling and grammar are really important else you wind up a meme!

The first one, damn.

 

[OaktonDave]

This might turn out to be a nice thread!

Me sitting in the Gallaudet library reading the newspaper, around 1985, while I was a grad student at Maryland. A former speech professor of mine was checking out a book and I waved when I caught his eye. He does not wave back, but I think nothing of it and turn back to the newspaper. All of a sudden, a rap on my shoulder. (Fun fact: it’s a piece of cake to sneak up on deaf people.) It’s my professor! “Put down that newspaper immediately and get back to your office and back to work!” Not a glimmer of a smile to be found. I put the newspaper down immediately and got back to my office and back to work.

I spent much of my high school years working in the kitchen of a fast-food restaurant; it was the only way I was going to afford college. That kind of job was the only path I had to the future I wanted. While I made many friends at the restaurant, I spent a lot of time doing things I would have preferred not doing. It was not even vaguely pleasant to change the oil in a large deep fryer, clean a grease trap, clean a public restroom, etc. The valuable lesson I learned is that most of the best things in life require you to do some things that you don't want to do - relationships, parenting, good health, and even a dream career. All of those things are great, but parts of all of them are anything but great, and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you can get to the great parts.

 

[Reno Hightower]

I ran a class in the Forum where 4 professors would each teach 1/4 of the semester

Professor S was always late getting me his exam, there would be mistakes in it, nice guy but arrogant. A real pain in the rear

I was complaining to one of the other 3, Professor M, about Professor S

He said to me, "Keyser, you should be GLAD the world is full of people like Professor S because it makes it easier for YOU to be successful"

That was roughly 35 years ago and I still keep that in mind when dealing with dumbazzes, slackers, etc.

Marketing 301? What you described was the exact format and building when I took it.

 

[PSU Mike]

I have told this story before

If you are making a cocktail at home - notably an Old Fashioned - pay close attention to the jar you pull out of the fridge. Because a bottle of red peppers looks very similar to a bottle of red cherries.

Never eat hot wings within 24 hours of any time you have more than a 1% chance of having sex.

 

[ApexLion]

Teachable moment for my father that I've always remembered. His mentor, the CEO of a fortune 500 told him 'know the names of the people on the floor doing the work and encourage them, they are the people who matter'. I always appreciated that sentiment because it's a reminder to check your ego at the door and actually speak to people.

 

[BobPSU92]

Teachable moment for my father that I've always remembered. His mentor, the CEO of a fortune 500 told him 'know the names of the people on the floor doing the work and encourage them, they are the people who matter'. I always appreciated that sentiment because it's a reminder to check your ego at the door and actually speak to people.

Speak to the little people and people who look like them.

 

[LionJim]

I spent much of my high school years working in the kitchen of a fast-food restaurant; it was the only way I was going to afford college. That kind of job was the only path I had to the future I wanted. While I made many friends at the restaurant, I spent a lot of time doing things I would have preferred not doing. It was not even vaguely pleasant to change the oil in a large deep fryer, clean a grease trap, clean a public restroom, etc. The valuable lesson I learned is that most of the best things in life require you to do some things that you don't want to do - relationships, parenting, good health, and even a dream career. All of those things are great, but parts of all of them are anything but great, and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you can get to the great parts.

Good post. I was a garbageman, a janitor. (Monday mornings in the men’s dorm remain seared in my memory.)