I have been a teacher almost my entire life. My first job was helping my Legislative Law Professor teach his course at the University of Texas School of Law. This was a senior level course, and by this time, I had more than two years legislative law experience under my belt drafting legislation in the Texas Senate. The professor always enjoyed my fresh input.
After graduating Law School, I learned an old political friend, John Gronouski, was going to be the first Dean of the new LBJ School of Public Affairs. John had served as LBJ’s Postmaster. We had both worked on the LBJ election campaign.
I went over to talk with him and found myself invited to be a Guest Lecturer teaching Texas Legislative Law. This was a wonderful atmosphere for teaching. The students were bright and engaging; the faculty was “top notch.”
Then the draft took me off to the Air Force and basic training. I found myself teaching eighteen-year-old Polish airmen how to write love letters back home, and how to sew on a button or a stripe. What a great experience dealing with humanity in its most unpolished form. I loved it!
After returning from Air Force active duty, I taught a few courses at Austin Community College. I even taught typing at a Business College when money was short, but then I found a wonderful opportunity to teach Government at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, as well as set up a Graduate Law Program for paralegals.
This was all taking place as Executive Services Inc., my Austin legislative consulting firm, was “slowing down,” and needing the infusion of cash!
We finally had to “pull-the-plug” on ESI. As I mentioned earlier, we did such a great job that the State of Texas decided to take over the services we were providing. I became weary of the 50-mile commute from Austin to San Marcos, so my eyes were open to new job opportunities.
There is was! I had a great job offer from Mobil/Montgomery Ward to be their Regional Senior Attorney and lobbyist. This would provide nicely for my family, and give me a wonderful opportunity to see people in 38 states and Washington, D.C. The new job unseated my teaching, but only for a few months. I found that good friends at St. Edwards University would let me teach Friday nights and Saturdays!
St. Edwards University and Leonard Nimoy
I loved the St. Edwards University nuns and their willingness to support me. They always made it possible for me to teach a weekend Government Class. The students were great and campus life offered so many interesting experiences.
I remember one evening when my students encouraged me to attend a Campus Forum, followed by a visit to Denny’s. It was approximately 11:00 PM when we crowded the door at Denny’s feverishly chatting while trying to find a seat. All of a sudden, I spied my “Hero” sitting in a corner booth . . . . it was Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek’s intrepid Science Officer. He was the Guest Speaker at the St. Edwards Forum!
My students seated themselves, but I wandered over to the corner booth, stuck out my hand at Nimoy, and announced that he was my hero! He looked a bit shocked at my assertiveness, but that soon grew into a big smile, followed by an invitation to sit and talk.
I had the honor to share almost 45 minutes discussing the value of logic within the decision-making process, and what it was like to be a revered TV star. His forthright nature and unabashed good humor made him a wonderful discussion partner. I so appreciated his willingness to put up with hero-worship.
At the close of our conversation, I stood-up thanking him for his time and turned to rejoin my students. They had quietly vanished seeing me up-to-my-nose in stimulating conversation. Of course, my students drilled me for details the next day in class! I didn’t share everything.
One thing Nimoy said truly struck me. He observed how people can become caught-up in science fiction philosophy, hear the great ideas, but rarely have the stamina to inculcate those principles into their own lives. I think he liked our conversation because I was demonstrating how I took his “logic approach” and applied it to my everyday life. This seemed to mean something to him.
My work at St. Edward’s University ended when Mobil/Montgomery Wards requested I move my family to Dallas. Human Resources thought it would be easier on me to fly out of the DFW Airport rather than having to fly from Austin to DFW, and then fly on to my final destination. In actuality, my moving to Plano just added more time to the trips rather than shortening them! What a fine example of corporate progress!
Brookhaven College and Greenhill School
Once settled in Dallas, I associated myself as Adjunct Faculty at Brookhaven College and found my true home for teaching. This campus was one of seven in the Dallas Community College District, but always seemed “home.” Over the years, particularly when I was working full-time for Chancellor Jan LeCroy, I had the privilege to teach at all seven DCCCD colleges, but Brookhaven was always home base. I taught there on-and-off from 1979 to 2020.
When I left my job as DCCCD’s Legislative Liaison, I was faced with several alternatives, but a friend at Brookhaven suggested I give the Greenhill School a call. She introduced me to her husband, Skip, who was Head of the Greenhill Science Department. I taught a “practice” chemistry class, and was immediately hired. I loved this because it gave me a chance to use my Chemistry Degree and extensive science background.
I always emphasized Chemistry Lab. My philosophy was that you can’t learn chemistry until your “cook.” I always felt I cheated my students if we didn’t have at least two labs a week! Lab skills, strictly-maintained lab books, and lab safety were tantamount to good chemistry teaching.
But I remember one day when I was demonstrating the proper use of the Bunsen burner. I set up a separate burner for everyone in the lab, and we practiced lighting the burner, adjusting the flame, and safely extinguishing the burner. We, of course, used lighted splints and “sparkers” to ignite the burners.
After I demonstrated the proper lighting technique, I set the still-glowing splint next to a sink on the demonstration table. All of sudden, there was a huge blasting swoosh where a cool blue flame leaped out of that sink, as well as from every sink in the lab. Over the weekend, sewer gas had built up in the sink pipes and gave everyone a great morning jolt. Nothing was injured except my pride.
Then, a new opportunity opened for me. The Winston School lost their 9th grade Science Teacher the day before school started and needed immediate help. Greenhill’s Head of School was a member of The Winston School’s Board of Directors, so he volunteered me. I would spend a half day at Greenhill and the other half day teaching at Winston.
I will always appreciate the support from Greenhill’s Head Master. I would later learn that several older Greenhill teachers had sought my dismissal based on jealousies. He definitely was not going to let me get hurt by campus politics. My after school science clubs and broad student support made others feel “less-appreciated.” I stepped on toes I never knew existed! I would later find that my enthusiasm for my students would bite me on the nose again at Winston too!
I ended up leaving Greenhill and joining the faculty at The Winston School. Their head master, Paul Erwin, welcomed me with open arms.
The Winston School
I am proud to say that I spent twenty-five years teaching at Winston. Yes, I taught community college in the evenings, but my full passion was for my Winston Students. These were kids that needed strong, innovative teaching; I was committed to giving it my very best.
Winston is a school for “learning different” students. They teach students diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD, ADHD, and high performing autism. I soon realized there are lots of great science teachers out there teaching wonderful students, but there were not lots of teachers with the kind of patience required to teach LD kids. I learned the importance of this patience years before I started working at Winston.
One of my first LD experiences involved a very independent Winston student who was in my 11:00 AM Physical Science class. Timmy had dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD. He would write letters on a vertical plane, and roam the classroom all period. He almost never remain seated.
I remember one day (early in my Winston teaching career) when I just grew weary of his incessant roaming. My classroom had large-topped tables . . . . 5’ x 6’. During one of Timmy’s rounding of a table, I did a flying swan dive on top of the table grabbing Timmy as he strolled by the end of that table. We sat there on the lab chair with me holding him and laughing.
The class was roaring with laughter. I remember saying to Timmy: “Did you know that you could actually sit down?” We must have laughed for five minutes. Timmy looked back at me and said sitting was not half bad! This was very high praise from this young man.
I learned from my fellow teachers that this lunging across the table was not the best teaching technique, but the time I invested in this one student seems to have made a huge difference. Timmy went from being a “roaming spirit” to being a seated, better functioning student. He told me this change occurred because I believed he could be more “normal.” No one had ever told him that. I don’t like the word “normal,” but when Timmy said it, I knew he was sharing his heart.
Timmy grew up to have an outstanding career in the movie business, and to have a beautiful family.
No, I would never use such rash techniques again, but I would always invest in my students’ successes, I would encourage good behavior, and I would only accept their best work. It seems to have worked!
I also expected them to be able to speak. I would always devote ample time to each new group of students to teach them how to speak, how to present their ideas with confidence, and how to control their posture. Over the years, student after student has written thanking me for this kind of support and training. For example:
“Doc, I figured I should thank you again. Your public speaking training
has paid off. About a week ago, I prepared a brief for the President. I
ended up presenting that brief by myself. This has led to a promotion and substantial raise.
Thank you for all those years of help.”
Yes, I spent a great deal of time with my students. We built great projects like a Mayan pyramid at the front door of my Winston classroom. This would be twelve feet tall and require students to seek entrance to the classroom by traveling through part of this pyramid. We built a cantilevered deck over the creek behind my classroom, and did Science shows for parents.
After several successful years, all of my extra student efforts would come back to bite me on the nose again. I found some of my fellow teachers thought I was getting special pay or special privileges. They even stole my check out of the school mail box to find out how much I was being paid! I couldn’t let these feelings continue because I truly loved my Winston job. This was the only place that gave me the opportunity to totally innovate and explore new teaching techniques!
I ended up having an individual conference with most of the upper school faculty. I wanted to know what I did to offend them. It was easy to dispel the rumor that I was being paid more. My stolen check clearly showed I was getting the regular meager teacher wage. I also learned there was no real basis for their ill feelings and most of this mean gossip was based on jealousies. Talking face-to-face made it harder for them to gossip behind my back.
I brought this crisis to an end by letting each teacher individually know my good intentions, and that I would do anything possible to help support their own programs. This didn’t end overnight. There were some lingering jealousies, but no one could say I didn’t make a heart-felt effort to understand their needs and concerns. The teacher behind most of this controversy would leave Winston the following year.
With a small school, there never was enough money for an aggressive Science Department. We had basic materials, but we didn’t have all the “bells & whistles” that would help LD students learn.
I learned I could compensate for less funding through more hands-on learning.
That’s why we built the cantilevered deck over the creek; that’s why we made a 12’ model of a Mayan pyramid; that’s why we went through the full Egyptian Book of the Dead with a special project involving chicken king “Tu-Tut-Chick.” We spent 70 days embalming a chicken in natron; we built a tomb-to-scale along the creek; we finalized the project with a procession to bury the mummified chicken. The whole school joined the entombment procession. Great learning was had by all!
Thirty years after this learning experience, students still write me recounting how fun this was, and how they learned so much about Science, Chemistry, and Archaeology.
I learned hands-on project-based learning was the best way to teach . . . . . . this was long before these words would ever be promoted by the teaching community!
Winston Science
With limited funding, I devised a series of science competitions called Winston Science, but this was going to be more than just competitions. It was based on three “legs” of science: Competitions – Great Science Lectures – Science Museum Tours. We started small with just Winston and seven other schools taking part in these events, but the project grew into one of the major Science Events in the Country. At its height, we had 30,000 students, teachers, and families taking part in our annual events.
I devised fun competitions like the popsicle stick suspension bridge competition, the “magic marble” event, the Rube Goldberg contraptions, and the large catapult constructions. We even had a life-size catapult category. My students built a trebuchet with a telephone pole as the launching arm, 2000 pounds of weights, and 10-foot tall supporting “A” frames. Of course, my students let one of these huge A-frames fall on me breaking several ribs, but this was a small price to pay for Science!
The kids loved seeing the surprised looks on people’s faces as they drove this huge catapult on LBJ Freeway. We pulled up to the catapult throwing site at Richland College, soon followed by several other entries, but none of the other trebuchets was as “gigantic” as the Winston Team’s entry.
The Winston Catapult Team won the event, but only tossed the 50 pound projectile twenty-seven feet. If the catapult had just fallen, it would have gone more than 28 feet! Even so, this was the winning “throw.”
Of course, every Winston Science had several Art Events including photography, science fiction sculpture, science fiction short stories, science fiction art projects, science fictions films, and “food art.”
Winston Science included great lectures by some of the finest scientists from around the country. These included a Paleontology Lectures by Dr. Robert Bakker, the famous paleontologist who helped reshape our modern understanding of dinosaurs; Archaeology Lectures by outstanding SMU paleontologists or Crow Canyon Archaeology Center’s Dr. Mark Varien; Astronomy Lectures by Dr. Randii Wessen from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory or Mark Wetzel from McDonnell Observatory. These lecture series helped inspire the hearts and minds of the students taking part in Winston Science.
We also included great tours for the students, often highlighted by presentations and hands-on labs at UT Southwestern Medical School. Students loved learning how to suture wounds, or take part in hands-on DNA analysis. The Science Place played a major role in helping stimulate these young minds by opening their doors for free access to Winston Science participants.
We also offered all the “mind” events like Quiz Bowls, Harry Potter Trivia Competitions, Star Wars & Star Trek Trivia Competitions, and Space Science Trivia Events. Maybe the most fun was the “Build a Life-size Dinosaur” in the State Fair Automobile Building. Student teams were provided 12’ x 12’ cardboard sheets, clippers, and duct tape. They had 10 hours to build a full scale dinosaur from a wooden skeletal model provided by Winston Science staff. They learned concepts of ratio and scale, as well as the perils of cardboard construction. There were always lots of tired hands from cutting the cardboard, but everyone had a great time! The dinosaurs were always outstanding!
Then, there was the most popular competition: “duct-tape-a-kid-to-the-wall” competition. Yes, a team of four students would see if they could duct tape a student to the wall of the State Fair Automobile Building. They had two minutes to do the “duct-taping,” followed by a period where the judge would measure the minutes (or seconds) the kid remained taped to the wall. The kid who stuck to the wall the longest period of time was declared the winner! More than 5,000 people would take part in this one event each year!
Along the same vein, we had the cardboard boat competition. Students used roll after roll of duct tape to hold together their cardboard boats, and then race them in the Fair Park Lagoon. The snapping turtles living in the lagoon added extra fun and excitement for each competition.
Putting together all these types of events each year produced a huge regional turnout from more than 700 schools from five states, but with this kind of turnout, we had to develop the necessary sponsorship to help fund these events. Sponsorships brought special benefits for Winston students. Our LD students would now have outstanding science opportunities that would not have been possible for our small school.
Winston became known as one of the leading Science Programs in Dallas! Equally as important, our students started taking pride in their Science accomplishments. They learned they were as good as any other student! A renewed sense of pride blossomed in every student.
What did all of this do for me? It gave me the opportunity to teach Archaeology, Astronomy, Astro-Physics, Paleontology, Geology, Oceanography, Engineering, Robotics, and Programing . . . . all on top of our regular Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. We brought Forensic Science to our Biology program giving relevance to our studies of DNA and problem solving. My students loved this!
The Forensic Program was also featured in Winston Science where we asked students to solve detailed crime scenarios complete with crime scenes, evidence, microscopic examinations, and forensic background data. Students of all ages wanted to take part in these great forensic mysteries with a maximum participation of 2500 students at one multi-day crime scene investigation. It didn’t hurt that the CSI TV Series was at the top of the TV viewing charts.
Winston Science also included a fun Human Powered Vehicle competition where students had to build a complete HPV without using purchased materials or regular bicycle parts. Yes, they could use wheels and brakes, but everything else was student-made. These HPV competitions were always a favorite.
Winston Science ended up with more than 45 competitions, lectures, and tours stretched over two weeks. The last big weekend was held at Dallas’ Fair Park Automobile Building. It brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school for our students. I am delighted to say this competition survives ten years after I retired from Winston.
No event would ever be successful without the support of a great staff. I soon learned the young Winston Solar Car Team could hugely benefit by being the backbone of Winston Science. The Winston Solar Car Team was always getting labeled as “rich students from a private school.” Potential sponsors would take our funding requests less seriously. This dramatically changed when the students would tell sponsors they put in hundreds of volunteer hours each year actually running Winston Science.
The Solar Team’s funding success was based on these unselfish efforts expended over these many weeks. This included organizing thousands of registrations, and manning both week day and weekend competitions. Students learned how to manage their time so their Winston Science efforts wouldn’t compromise their academic success. This also gave the team a huge sense of pride. Winston benefited by a boost in their community reputation, and by the dollars coming into the Science budget.
High School Solar Car
In 1990, I had a particularly enthusiastic group of students who heard that the University of North Texas had taken part in the 1990 SunRayce, and was building a new solar car for the 1993 race from Arlington, TX to Minneapolis, MN. The kids asked me to take them to UNT in Denton so we could see their new vehicle. The UNT Engineering Department put me in-touch with Dr. John Dobson, Engineering Professor and solar car team adviser. John asked us to come for a visit! We did!
The students were mesmerized by the solar car. Here, before their eyes, they could see college students building a vehicle powered by the sun, and driving that car cross-country! It was stunning to these high school students! This was 1990. Solar Cars were unheard of!
The van trip back to Dallas was filled with wild statements by the kids . . . . wild and enthusiastic! After an hour fighting Dallas traffic and enduring the energy emitted by seven students, we arrived at the school. One of the kids grabbed my shoulder. He asked: “Doc, can’t we build a solar car too?” I thought to myself: high schools haven’t done this before. Could high schoolers take on this challenge?
My wife has mentioned several times my decision on that 1990 day was the most significant one of my life. I looked at the kids and said: “Yes, let’s build a solar car.” I would not know solar car building would become my “mistress” with all my spare time devoted to this engineering project. My wife would always laugh and say she always knew where I was . . . . . “building or racing a solar car.”
You have to realize I knew very little about building things. Yes, I built a go-cart when I was in high school, but I had never taken a shop class. Having said this, I was a veteran “tinkerer.” I took apart everything I could get my hands on. I could get it back together, and it almost always worked! I have to say I was amazed by the engineering I would learn over the next 30 years!
Dr. John Dobson allowed us to bring the old University of North Texas solar car to the Winston School. I rented a 26’ bed Ryder Truck and traveled to Denton to pick up the car. We loaded it onto the truck and started to head home. I asked everyone’s indulgence while I stopped by my daughter’s UNT dormitory to say hello.
The Ryder Truck was parked on a large downhill slope in front of my daughter’s dormitory. When I emerged from the dormitory, I had the fright of my life! The Ryder Truck started rolling downhill! How was this possible? I had the keys to the truck in my pocket. No one was driving!
I could anticipate the truck crushing a car, striking a student, or causing a collision. I could envision having to pay for the truck, the old solar car, and numerous law suits!
My whole life as a teacher passed in front of my eyes.
I took off running after the truck. Miraculously, the truck came to a controlled stop. Unbeknownst to me, one of my students had the bright idea that he could trick me into thinking the truck was uncontrolled . . . . and this would be fun! I was so grateful we didn’t have a wreck that I just couldn’t say anything! That would change later when we got back to school!
We brought the solar car to Winston and showed it to the students, teachers, and administration. I asked if we could raise money and build our own car. This would cost Winston School nothing! Our wonderful Head of School, Dr. Rita Sherbenou, gave us permission because she believed in me, the kids, and this great hands-on project.
There were a million sketches from the kids, but we needed something more substantial to visualize our design. We needed a way to check spatial arrangements, and look at the aerodynamics. We decided to buy thin strips of wood to develop some kind of life-size model. Wood strips held together with duct tape were our materials of preference.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough space in my classroom to construct a model, so we had to move out into the hall, set up, work 30 minutes, and then take everything back into the classroom. We just didn’t have the space or enough time to plan.
That’s when we got the bright idea that we should take a three-day field trip to McDonnell Observatory and spend the trip planning the car and building a mock-up in my hotel room! We would have the time to focus our thoughts, try out our design, and check spatial arrangements. Most importantly, we wouldn’t have to shut down after 30 minutes!
We arrived at the Indian Lodge at Fort Davis State Park, secured our rooms, hauled in our wood strips and duct tape, and set about designing our first solar car. Of course, we forgot something. We didn’t bring any saw to cut the wood. That’s when some of the students pulled out knives and began to chop the wood strips. By the way, knives were prohibited on field trips!
Just as we were well into the project, the maid arrived and asked if she could vacuum the floor. We held up the wood strips allowing her clear access to the floor. To our horror, the carpet started coming up with every stroke of the vacuum cleaner! The students had cut the carpet when they were cutting the wood. It was just coming up like a cookie cutter!
The look on the Manager’s face was priceless. It was a look of horror coupled with amazement! He just couldn’t understand how we were this careless. He kept saying over and over: “What have you done?” I have to admit I didn’t anticipate the problem. I was just so happy watching the creativity and enthusiasm that filled the room. There is nothing better than seeing kids inspired to accomplish a project!
As it turns out, our first series of solar car fund raisers were to pay for the carpet in my hotel room at the Indian Lodge. It cost $600 to replace this one room of carpet. It seems funny now, but it was tragic at the time! That first team had many laughs about this experience. We got home and continued our planning, but some of the inspiration had gone out of our balloon.
I remember the team was working on their solar car plan using wood strips when the Football Coach came into the room, saw what we were doing, and said: “What a bunch of losers. You’re never going to build a car.”
The Football Coach would never know how his words set fire to the team. They instantly became hugely energized to build a solar car. We were going to make him “eat his words.” Thanks coach for being such a jerk and helping inspire these wonderful kids. The team was successful!
A Solar Shed
The seven members of the new solar car team realized our biggest problem was not having a place to work. I am not sure who came up with this idea, but we decided to build some kind of “shop” on the sidewalk just 50 feet from my classroom. I asked Dr. Sherbenou if we could “use” this side walk for our construction. I must admit I didn’t give all the details, but she agreed.
What she didn’t know was that we had secured concrete and building supplies from one of my student’s parents. We had a 50-hour plan that would be implemented on Friday after everyone left campus. We would take up the concrete sidewalk and pour a new, larger foundation on Saturday morning. We would finish the job on Sunday.
The kids worked their hearts out breaking up the sidewalk concrete. By 10:00 PM Friday, we had removed the old sidewalk and developed a plan for disposing of the debris. Saturday morning arrived early along with a concrete truck. We laid in rebar and supports for the concrete at 6:00 AM; we poured concrete at 8:00 AM followed by smoothing the surface. Installed in the concrete were four sets of bolts that would be used to attach the shop superstructure.
The new building foundation had been completed by 11:00 AM. Now, it was time for the students to start pre-fabricating the rest of the building so that we could install it after the new concrete hardened. Installation of the walls and roof would be our Sunday morning chore! By the time we left Sunday night, we had completed the Solar Shed! Yes, it was only 13’ x 26’, and had a gaping hole where a garage door would be installed, but we now had our own “place.”
The biggest value teaching in a small private school was that students could get away with this kind of construction project. We were going to “ask for forgiveness rather than permission.”
The students were so very proud of their new building. Man has built many great structures, but this little shop was built with 100% blood, sweat, and tears of seven dedicated students. I was so proud of them! We were worn out from the hard work, but we accomplished this hard task together! Major team-building!
The Head of School surveyed the building Monday morning and actually had great words to say in support of the kids. Since it was fairly out-of-sight, there was no argument that the student construction detracted from the school’s ambiance. We survived the inspection.
So over the next twenty months, the team was to learn how to build a solar car, along with the skills necessary to build it. It was a dynamic learning curve for everyone. We had so much confidence. We even contacted the U.S. Department of Energy asking permission to follow the 2003 SunRayce. We received tacit approval, but I am sure this was based on the premise that the Department of Energy didn’t believe high school students could build a roadworthy solar car.
We were to prove the Energy Department wrong! The kids brought in great teachers to give them major ideas for building their car. This included UNT’s Dr. John Dobson and the adviser to the University of Michigan’s famed solar car team. These professors shared their engineering ideas on Mondays and Wednesdays; I would translate their words into language understandable to high school students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We were making progress.
And then there was the fundraising. We learned that no one would give us money unless we were prepared to talk about the project. We learned that corporations wanted us to give a thoughtful, polished presentation.
I will never forget our first attempt to get funding from Texas Instruments. The students organized a less-than-proper presentation. I suggested we needed to spend more time refining our speaking skills, but the enthusiasm of youth won out! We delivered the proposal to the Vice-President of TI.
Mid-way through that presentation, the VP stood up and announced he was leaving! He invited us to come back when we were ready to make a real presentation! This rocked everyone back on their heels, but it was a hugely valuable life-lesson.
The students went back to the school and decided they would spend the entire summer developing a great presentation. They even had the idea they would develop a video to show during that presentation.
The students approached organizing a better presentation with renewed energy. They had been humiliated during their first outing and didn’t want this to happen again.
A script was developed and printed on poster board so the presenter would have cue cards. The only problem was these wonderful dyslexic ADHD students couldn’t read the cue cards! Their halting readings created frustration and anxiety. We finally gave up the video idea in favor of a new tactic: Memorize the presentation!
LD students are extremely bright! Their ability to memorize was second-to-none, so each of the students was allocated a portion of the presentation to commit to memory. We were going to build a “speaking team.” Each student’s speech would lead to the next student’s speech. Put them all together (in the right order) and you have a well-prepared oral presentation! We would develop a remarkable story about student commitment, planning, fund raising, and construction plans.
The team went back to Texas Instruments in the Fall of 1991 and gave their new presentation. The TI executives gave the kids a standing ovation, and later presented them a check for $25,000 to help fund their program. We learned well-prepared oral presentations would be the foundation of the solar car project. I always told the students: “If you can’t talk about your project, you shouldn’t be doing that project!” This became our mantra!
Interestingly, we learned the hard way the value of developing common answers. This was dramatically pointed out by an engineer who visited with each team member during a big “display” at a National Science Convention. The engineer confessed he had planned to give the kids a donation, but when each kid gave him a different answer to the same question, he backed off!
It was startling to learn that team members didn’t know the number of volts in the battery pack, or what grade aluminum was used for the frame. What resulted was a series of over 100 questions and “common answers” that had to be memorized and refreshed periodically. Everyone would know we were using a 48-volt system.
This one principle would dramatically improve the team’s public image, and resulted in a greater flow of donations!
2003 Sunrayce
As the 2003 Sunrayce approached, I contacted the U.S. Department of Energy to refresh their memory that we planned to follow the race. Now, we had their undivided attention. I received letters and phone calls from the SunRayce Director asking what we hoped to gain from this adventure. We responded our only goal was to demonstrate high school students could build and drive a roadworthy solar car.
Weeks went by without a response from the Department of Energy. Then, on the same day, two letters arrived. Both had handwritten addresses. One of these letters was addressed to the Head of School asking for additional information. The other letter was addressed to the team and contained a threat that the students would not be welcome at the race. The tone of this second letter was menacing. It was unsigned.
The most interesting thing is that both letters had handwritten addresses, and that the handwriting was the same on both envelopes! One letter was reasonable; the other letter created fear in the minds of the team members. The Head of School brought her letter to us for review. It was at this moment we realized the same person who wrote the “reasonable” letter also wrote the “threatening,” unsigned letter. The author was the Race Director, an employee of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Winston Solar Car Team had acquired some notoriety by this time. People throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area had been introduced to the team through KDFW-TV’s ongoing video project which tracked the team’s progress each week. Dallas viewers had grown accustomed to seeing these students “tell their story” on TV.
During one of the KDFW visits to campus, the videographer picked up on the fear in the hearts and minds of the students . . . . . fear the U.S. Department of Energy might do something to their solar car project. We were even taking turns “watching” our solar car shop after school and weekends. We always felt it would have been simple to cut the high school kids out of the event by damaging their shop or solar car.
I later learned this same videographer asked our local Congressman why the U.S. Department of Energy was threatening these kids. As a member of the Congressional Oversight Committee that funds the Department of Energy, he had a valid reason to ask the Secretary of Energy about this threatening employee.
Within days, I learned the Secretary of Energy, Hazel O’Leary, had fired this Race Director! This was absolutely never intended! I was in shock! Now, we were getting emails from college teams asking why we got their Race Director fired! Now, we felt even less welcome at the Race.
The DFW community was outraged the Energy Department would threaten these kids. The facts of the threat had been clearly displayed during an investigative report on KDFW-TV.
Weeks went by before we heard any more from the U.S. Department of Energy. Then, we received word government representatives wanted to visit with us prior to Race Start at the Arlington Convention Center.
We were nervous about showing up for this meeting, but our media friends went with us as a kind of “protection.” A Department of Energy Official asked us what the team wanted. We explained we had no intention of harming the Race Director or the Race. All we wanted from the very beginning was to help promote the SunRayce, and to respectfully “follow” the Race in our high school solar car.
The government officials huddled for a few minutes and assured us we would be allowed to follow the race. Our guideline: we could begin driving the race two hours after the last official race entry left the Start Line each day.
It was three years before I was to learn from a World Solar Challenge Official that we could have asked for anything at that Arlington meeting. The Department of Energy would have granted any request. We could have even been the “pace car” for each day’s racing. I felt good we only asked for what we first intended: to respectfully follow the SunRayce.
Race Day arrived! The Winston Solar Car Team arrived at the Arlington Convention Center, the Race Start! All the college cars were launched on time. We waited a respectful two hours, and started our race with a roar of support from Winston parents and community onlookers.
The Winston solar car made it across the Interstate on the race route. I was following directly behind the solar car in my large Ryder Truck. This gave me a perfect line-of-sight to monitor the vehicle’s progress. Then, I saw something that brings horror to the heart of any solar car team! I realized the solar car motor was on fire!
I radioed the Winston Solar Car driver to pull off the road. He was unaware of the fire! Everyone in the chase vehicles charged up to the solar car to put out the fire, but the motor was burned beyond repair. Of course, we were too poor to have a spare motor!
We put the solar car into the truck and headed to the Race’s first overnight stop in Oklahoma. One of the wonderful team member’s parents agreed to buy us a new motor and travel to Tulsa to pick it up. We planned to change-out the motor in Ada. Now we were ready to rejoin the race overnighting in Tulsa.
We arrived at our motel in a 12-passenger van, the huge Ryder Truck, and the team parent’s large RV. The kids piled out of the van heading immediately to the rooms, but leaving me to find a parking place for the truck. I circled in the motel parking lot and realized I had come full circle to the front of the motel. Unfortunately, there was a low awning in front of the lobby entrance. I would not be able to drive this course without taking off the awning, so I decided to back up the truck!
If anyone has ever driven Ryder’s largest truck, you will understand that backing up can be problematic even under the best of conditions. I was young and brave, so I decided to back up the truck to a point where I could get out of the parking lot.
I was intensely watching the rear view mirror. To my surprise, a woman came out of a hair salon with her hair in “spoolies” and wearing a protective apron. I could see she was upset, but I couldn’t hear anything over the roar of the truck. I put the truck in Parking Gear and crawled down from the truck cab. Now I could hear the woman screaming. Apparently, I had backed the truck over this woman’s small car! The rear axle of the truck was sitting on the crushed roof of a small Ford Pinto.
The motel called the Police for assistance which brought the Tulsa Sheriff. I was trying to console the poor lady, but she wanted a pound of my flesh. Finally, the kids started wandering out into the parking lot to get their luggage from the truck. The look of horror and amazement on their faces was priceless. I don’t fully understand, but their reactions seemed to make me feel a bit better.
The Sheriff came up to me, secured my insurance information, and strongly suggested I not leave town until this incident was fully resolved. I collected this poor woman’s contact information and told her we would resolve this horrible event.
Thank you Ryder Trucks for believing in us! Knowing the circumstances of this trip, our good friends at Ryder had totally insured the truck for all incidents. They would replace this woman’s Ford Pinto with a new car. Our problem, however, was we had to get out of Tulsa and proceed with the Race.
I got the students up at 3:00 AM the next morning and our little convoy exited the City of Tulsa by 4:00 AM. We sat the solar car down on the road and began driving the race route. We passed our good friends and supporters, the University of Texas Solar Car Team. We were actually able to help them with a needed tool. Interestingly, our first high school solar car would do better than five college entries, although we probably held the record for break downs.
Our biggest break down occurred in southern Minnesota when our axle splintered. We didn’t know anything about heat-treating axles, so it just couldn’t handle the stress of the drive.
We found a parking lot and set up shop for an overnight “fix.” To our startling amazement, a police car came screeching up to us with the Police Officers jumping out to see what we were doing. I guess we did look suspicious being in a strip mall parking lot trying to weld an axle at 4:00 AM in the morning.
I explained to the officers the nature of our project, and introduced each student to the policemen. The officers huddled for a minute, then asked me to get in the car. I asked if there was a problem. They said no, but they had a solution to my problem.
These two fine officers drove me to a welder’s home and awoke him! They explained our situation. The welder got into his truck and followed the officers back to the parking lot. This wonderful man helped us weld our axle so we could get back on the road by 8:00 AM. We all learned a great lesson about community spirit from this welder!
The Winston Team finally arrived at the Minneapolis SunRayce Finish Line. We were directed to a peripheral parking lot so we wouldn’t share the fanfare associated with the main racing event. The team appreciated this decision because we didn’t know how the college teams would respond to us following the “firing” of their Race Director.
To our amazement, more than a hundred college kids came rushing over to the Winston Team hugging and congratulating them on their success. It was a “life affirming” moment.
I went on to teach at the Winston School for 25 years. Through my hands-on learning programs (Winston Science, Winston Solar Car Team), we made a huge impact on the Science Education Community. I ended up teaching Sciences for 30 years; Engineering for 30 years; and Government for 52 years.
Teaching was never work. It was my small effort to help others, and to show my dead Viet Nam buddies that I was doing everything possible to pay them back for the privilege of living.
Helping Students Discover
An old friend with the Dallas Science Place’s Paleontology Department alerted me that a swimmer in Lake Ray Hubbard had stumbled onto some bones in four feet of water about ten yards from shore. Several students and I set out on an “adventure” to see if there was any truth to this statement.
Arriving at the approximate location, we waded into the lake so cloudy that you couldn’t see you hand four inches in front of your face. We had to do our searching with our feet and toes! After about 90 minutes, I put my foot on something hard and irregular in shape. Was it just a rock or had we found something significant.
Diving below the water, I groped around on the bottom of the lake composed of decomposing plant matter and three inches of brown muck. I came up with a heavy bone that appeared to be a vertebra. The students raced to my location and discovered more bones.
Triumphant but filthy with stinky plant matter, we headed back to the Science Place to identify our finds. We were elated to learn we discovered the backbone of a Mosasaur, an aquatic reptile that lived from 82-66 million years ago. Our survey of the bones indicated our specimen was over twenty feet long!
The students couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. Everyone was talking about future exploration . . . . and how we were going to get our specimen out of the lake. Then the practicality set in! The Science Place already had a splendid specimen of this animal, so they were not interest in pursuing a “dig.”
We took our find to the Southern Methodist University’s Paleontology Department. They explained this kind of discovery was exciting for students, but would cost too much money to excavate. It didn’t help that every significant science program in the area had a Mosasaur!
The students and I agreed the experience was hugely rewarding, but we were a bit disappointed that no one wanted out glorious “find.”
National Science Conventions
National Science Conventions always provided wonderful opportunities for me to raise money for Winston Science or Winston Solar. I never returned from a convention without securing thousands of dollars of donations and science equipment.
I was attending one such convention in Los Angeles when a Federal Wildlife Officer came up to me and asked for my help. He told me he had confiscated four tree frogs from a group that didn’t have a license to collect or sell these animals. He said he wanted to find a science teacher who could lawfully use the animals for education purposes. Of course I said: “That’s me!”
The Federal Wildlife Officer handed me the four frogs housed in a plastic cup. I signed a document confirming receipt of the animals, and headed back to the hotel to pack for my return trip to Dallas. I was flying Southwest Airlines. I checked my luggage and carried my plastic cup with the frogs onto the plane.
One hour into the flight, the Flight Attendant asked me what was in my plastic cup. I explained I was the recipient of several tree frogs obtained during my visit at the National Science Teachers’ Convention.
A few minutes later, that Flight Attendant came back to my seat and asked for a favor. An elementary-age student was having a difficult time on the flight. She thought I might be able to ease his concerns if I showed him the frogs. I agreed.
I walked forward several rows to meet this nine year old passenger. His mother quietly introduced us. After explaining how the tree frogs came into my possession, I leaned over, lifted the lid of the plastic cup, and gave the young man a look at four very nervous small frogs. The young man grabbed the cup with excitement causing one of the frogs to jump out of the cup.
There was instant pandemonium! The young boy’s mother screamed; the Flight Attendance lost her composure screaming at me to please catch the frog. I was on my knees moving up and down the aisle trying to find this 3 cm frightened critter. Then I heard a scream from two rows away! I could see the cause of that scream: the green tree frog had attached itself to the back of a lady’s leg.
In a matter of seconds, the entire section of the plane became hysterical. No one knew what was happening. I grabbed the frog off the lady’s leg, stood up, and announced in a loud voice that the wayward animal had been captured, and there was no danger to anyone. The passengers’ composure calmed down almost immediately.
As I returned to my seat, a man grabbed my arm and scolded me for bringing dangerous animals on the airplane. I looked him squarely in the eye, opened the lid so he could see the contents of the plastic cup, and said: “Sir, are you really going to say a tiny tree frog is a dangerous animal?” We both laughed!
Teaching Engineering
I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching Engineering to thousands of students over these last 26 years. High School Solar Car and the Solar Car Challenge have given me the remarkable opportunity to expand my understanding of the “teaching world.” I found myself teaching both students and teachers as we encouraged support for this new hands-on project-based education. I will expand on this topic in the Chapter labeled “Solar Car Challenge.”