10/02/2023
The Man Who Knows "Why"
My mother put in 30 years with the United States Post Office. She started as a part-time window clerk and retired as postmaster of Evant, Texas, population 415. One of those 415 souls was the real and original Mr. Farquhar. I do not remember his first name—I only heard it once in my life when he introduced himself. My mother always referred to him as “Mr. Farquhar.” Mr. Farquhar was 92 when I knew him in 1984 and he has long passed from this Earth. After he retired from the US Air Force after the Korean War, he ended up working in Walt Disney’s engineering lab—not to be confused with “The Walt Disney Company,” Mr. Farquhar worked for Walt Disney himself, and ended up in during the late 1960s as Mr. Walt Disney’s Chief of Design at Disneyland.
Mr. Farquhar maintained a small science museum in Evant, which covered many physics topics, and he was overjoyed to guide young skulls full of mush through the exhibits in his museum. In his opening remarks, he told this story about his experience as a 19-year-old draftee in the Army Air Corps during World War II. I remember those two minutes as if they were yesterday:
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Mr. Farquhar’s Story
I was 19 when I was drafted into the Army. They found I had an aptitude for mechanic work, so they put me into the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic. After Basic Training was over, I was sent to a 28-day Advance Camp. On the first day of Advance Camp, the instructor called the roll and then said, “Always remember: The man who knows ‘how’ will always have a job.’” On the 2nd day, the instructor called the roll and said the same thing again, “Always remember: The man who knows ‘how’ will always have a job.”
The instructor made that same statement every day for the first 27 days of that Advance Camp. On the last day—the 28th day—of Advance Camp, the instructor began in the same manner as the previous 27. He called the roll and said, “The man who knows ‘how’ will always have a job…” (Here, Mr. Farquhar paused, took a breath for just a moment and continued on) “On the 28th day, the instructor added, ‘…but the man who knows ‘why’ will be your boss.’"
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Imagine the effect Mr. Farquhar’s story had on a 17-year-old high school junior. In trying to solve a problem, be it a word problem on paper or rebuilding the engine on my car, I have sought to know not only “how” to solve the problem, but “why” it occurred in the first place and “why” it should be solved in a certain way.
In my experience as a tutor, the same approach to “why” may not work for every student. Ask any professor of education about the proverbial instruction manual and they will say that “the book” only covers 80 percent of all students. Since most students who seek tutoring are struggling with the material and fall into the 20 percent that “the book” does not cover, use “the book” as a general guide and find what works for that student. When a student grasps the “why,” the lightbulb goes off in their brain and the “how” falls into place quickly.
I tell all my students, “Do not study hard; study smart!” And “If you are beating your head against the table trying to grasp the material, do not beat it harder or faster; you will only end up with a bloody forehead. Let’s stop what you are doing and take a different approach.”
