History of Duck Tape

Like many others, I have assumed for years that the original and proper spelling for the ubiquitous gray cloth tape is duct tape, as in taping duct seams. I was wrong. I just recently learned some of the history of the original invention of Duck Tape by reading about it on a Facebook post by George Lanthier. If you work in oil or gas heat in the northeast, you probably have at least heard of George.  I know he knows what he is talking about, but we are talking about a Facebook post, so I did a little more research. According to Educationalnow.com, the word duck comes from the Dutch word "doek", which means linen canvas. According to thoughtco.com, soldiers called it “Duck Tape” because of the way it repelled water. Perhaps both are true. But that is not really the interesting part of the story.

A mom named Vesta Stoudt came up with the original idea for Duck Tape while working in a factory packing ammo boxes. Before the development of Duck Tape, cartridges were packed in heavy cardboard boxes that were taped and dipped in wax to make them waterproof. The box flaps were sealed with thin paper tape, and a tab of tape was left loose so that it could be pulled to release the waterproof wax coating and open the box. The problem was that the thin paper tape wasn’t strong enough, and the tabs frequently tore off when soldiers pulled on them to open the ammo boxes, leaving them frantically scrambling to claw the boxes open while under enemy fire. Vesta developed a prototype cloth tape to solve this problem. She had a personal reason for her concern about the effectiveness of the ammo box sealing method, she had two sons in the Navy.  Unable to convince her supervisors of the merits of her idea, she wrote president Roosevelt. President Roosevelt and his military advisors liked Vesta Stoudt’s idea, and they asked the Industrial Tape Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson, to develop and manufacture a cloth-backed, water-resistant tape with a strong adhesive. Duck tape was made with a layer of cotton canvas (doek) coated in waterproof polyethylene, and a layer of strong rubber-based adhesive. 

Soldiers returning from the war found all sorts of uses for Duck Tape and its usefulness made it popular. Duck tape was not used for duct work until after World War II. Unfortunately, the original style Duck tape is not actually recommended for use on duct work. It tends to dry up and become brittle. However, there are many other practical uses for general purpose Duck Tape.  Manco, now part of ShurTech Brands,  trademarked the name “Duck Tape” in 1980. Today, any tape actually named “Duck Tape” is from ShurTech. Now there actually is tape designed specifically for sealing ductwork, and it is referred to as “duct tape.”  Tape used with ductwork should have a UL 181 rating. The next time you hear someone mention “Duck Tape,” just realize they are being historically correct.

Chalk and Talk 

Several years ago a fellow HVAC instructor told me he had been strongly encouraged by his immediate supervisor to do more lecturing. To the academically trained supervisor, working with students in the lab didn’t look like teaching, it looked like training. In the supervisor’s mind, training was a lower level pursuit – akin to monkey see monkey do. The school had just transitioned from a Technical School to a Technical Collage and they wanted to look like a college. 

The instructor was asking for any help I could offer, especially along the lines of “chalk and talk”, his description of what he felt was being asked of him. I think that phrase perfectly embodies why so many students really don’t get a lot out of lectures – they are just observers, not participants. The instructor is writing stuff on the board and talking while the students are just passive observers.  In the days of chalk boards, the instructor was not even facing the class when they were writing. It sometimes seemed like the teacher was engrossed in their own thoughts while they stare at the board and talk to no one in particular. 

We have advanced a bit since then. At least with Powerpoint presentations we are usually facing the class, even if we are staring at our computer monitor most of the time. However, it is possible to lecture and still rise above the mind-numbing norm of a monologue delivered to a captive audience of passive observers.  

Begin by facing your audience and making eye contact with people long enough so they feel you are speaking to them personally. If you are using a Powerpoint presentation, be familiar enough with the presentation and the material that you don’t have to read the notes while looking at the screen. It is OK to look at the screen occasionally, but if your discussion is just straight out reading the notes it will be boring no matter how good the presentation is.

Use voice inflection and hand motion to convey personal interest in your subject matter. How do you expect your class to maintain interest if YOU think the talk is boring.

Stop and take a breath. One dead give away of a nervous speaker is someone who has rehearsed their speech so much that all the words come out in a rapid-fire regurgitation that indicates they are just repeating memorized phrases, not really thinking about they are saying.

Whenever possible, involve your audience. People learn more if they do more. Ways to involve the class could include group questions, prompts for input, or even direct questions to individual students if you know them well enough. Be careful with the last suggestion, the goal is to include the students, not intimidate or embarrass them.

Use visual aids. This is pretty easy to do today. Just be careful not to overdo the videos and pictures you share. You should not be handing your class over to professor YouTube, just showing snippets that enhance and reinforce your talk.

When using online material, make sure and watch it yourself first. Even though you are not the person in the video, if you show it to your class you are in effect endorsing it. There are some things online that you don’t want to be associated with. 

Finally, this is an HVACR class. It is perfectly OK to have gauges, meters, gas valves, compressors, or any other tools or parts you want as visual aids. If you are talking about meters, every student should have one in their hands. You can even do some small exercises during the lesson. Remember, people learn by doing, so have the students do something. No, this is not your typical college class – it is a hell of a lot more interesting.

Human Search Engine

 Instructors worry about not knowing all the answers. I know that I do. Let me put you at ease. You don’t have to know all the answers to be an effective instructor. In fact, I feel that anyone who knows all the answers hasn’t asked enough questions. Our job as instructors is not to be a human search engine, but to teach students how to search for answers on their own. In short, to help students become more proficient at the learning process, specifically applied to our field of HVACR. To be clear, I am not suggesting that instructors do not need to be competent in HVACR. Nor am I saying you shouldn’t want to know as many answers as possible. Just that knowing every answer a student might ask is not necessary. Discomfort with areas where you don’t know the answers can sometimes cause instructors to cling to the specific areas of information they already know and refuse to broaden their scope. This is particularly true when it comes to new technology and industry developments. I believe this is an unconscious effort to “know everything” by limiting the scope of knowledge you expose yourself and your students to. Venturing into areas of new development can be uncomfortable because you don’t have as many answers at the ready. However, it is perfectly OK to tell a student that you don’t know the answer to a question they ask. Help them by directing them to resources where they might find answers. They are going to need research skills when they enter the field. Teaching students to learn on their own is probably the most important thing you can possibly teach them. On those many occasions when you DO know the answer, it can be more helpful to guide them through a search process than to simply hand them the answer. People tend to remember things they discover on their own more than things that people tell them. It takes discipline to do this. Providing the answer immediately basically concludes the interaction with the student. Asking leading questions or discussing relevant informative resources makes the interaction more of a dialogue and requires more student participation. It definitely takes a little longer, but provides a better long-term result. Remember, students learn more by what THEY DO, than by what you do.  

Establishing Your Lifelines

All indications are that the HVACR Industry wants to help more people become involved in the HVACR trade. Their motivation is not founded in philanthropy, but self-interest. Unions cannot prosper without skilled members, contractors cannot prosper without skilled workers, and everyone needs skilled technicians to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer (unless they live in Australia where keeping warm in the winter is not a problem). Howard Weiss of the ESCO Group recently sent out an message encouraging everyone involved in HVACR to step up to the plate and contribute to the education efforts in our industry. He points out the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 65.6% of HVACR service personnel in the industry in the year 2020 will be people not in the industry today. The whole industry has a stake in education. I believe that one problem is that many of the organizations who are already involved and contributing the HVACR education efforts often have a difficult time getting the word out. Teachers are often busy keeping up day to day and don’t always have the time to investigate instructional materials, scholarships, industry sponsored training, or equipment donations already available. I find that sometimes companies and organizations can’t understand why more schools, teachers, or students don’t respond to their offers. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Anyone wishing to get instructors involved in their activities needs to plan ahead. Early notice is essential to educators. The educational bureaucracy moves at a slothful pace. The first time I went to the AHRI Instructor’s Workshop, the president of my school had to obtain permission from the state for me to go, even though Pearson was paying my way and I would be speaking at the conference. We have to know months in advance to make things happen.

For manufacturers and trade organizations, you need to market your help the way you market your products and services. One or two e-mails or flyers is just not going to get the job done. You need to make pests of yourselves! It is also a good idea to use more than one method to notify us and to make each promotional piece a little different so that it will be noticed. A good example is the National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference sponsored by the ESCO Group. They put out e-mails and flyers on a weekly basis months away from the date of their conference. The result is that their conference has sold out two years running in a very tight economy. I know that marketing free or low cost products and services might seem counterintuitive. It is really simply a matter of following a successful model. Persistent marketing works.

As instructors, we need to recognize that we must invest time developing a network of support for our programs. If we wait for the resources we need to just show up, we won't have much to work with. I have several local contractors who donate materials and equipment to my program. A local contractor on my advisory board recently gave our program one of the new Trane Communicating touchscreen thermostats that look like an ipad. What does the contractor get out of the deal? He and most of his employees are graduates of Athens Tech. But all donations do not have to be so elegant. A recent graduate now working in the field brought us a 3 ton ICP heat pump that is less than 2 years old. It was involved in a house fire and was being replaced. Students who needed a job cleaning coils cleaned it up and a student who needed a job installing a split system installed it. I am proud to say that the newest addition to our shop runs great! If you have needs, let someone know. Below is a small list of organizations you can use to start your HVACR support network.

Instructor Networking

• Council of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Instructors  CARE
• Refrigeration Service Engineers Society RSES

Conferences

• RSES National Conference, November 14-17, 2012
• HVACR & Mechanical Conference, March 11-13, 2013
• National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference, March 17-20, 2013

Equipment Donations

• AHRI has a program connecting equipment manufacturers to programs with equipment needs. AHRI Equipment Donations
• Appion will donate an Appion recovery unit to your school. Also, if you buy their speed kit, they will donate one of their vacuum pumps. Appion Donations
• AMRAD builds the Turbo 200 multi-capacity replacement capacitors. They will give you one for your class. They will also come to your school and do a class on how to use them. AMRAD donations

Scholarships

• AHRI Rees Scholarship literally has more money than they know what to do with because too few students apply. Let’s change that.
• PHCC Scholorship Foundation gives scholarships each year
• Grainger awards many Tools for Tomorrow scholarships throughout the country which include both financial support and a tool kit

Looking for a Day On

As we celebrate this Labor Day I am reminded of the many Americans who don’t want a day off, they are looking for a day on. Your job provides you with more than the financial means to support yourself. For most of us, we are identified by our profession. One of the first things people ask when meeting is “what do you do?” Having regular earned income also gives us a way to be more in control of our destiny. With a predictable source of income, you can manage towards improving your lot in life. I truly believe all our political leaders want to help. We would all like for everyone seeking employment to find it. There have been many attempts by government at all levels to pass legislation that would stimulate the economy and create jobs. The problem is that it is very difficult to create truly new jobs, particularly in new and emerging technologies. I believe we would have more success investing our time and money training people for jobs that already exist, particularly in fields where industry growth exceeds the available workforce. HVACR is one such industry. Jobs are available now for skilled HVACR technicians, even with the construction industry operating at historically low levels. Money spent in technical education prepares students for real jobs that we know exist, not jobs that we wished exist. Preparing people for a real job that pays real money makes them a contributing taxpayer. In short, the government gets the money back. Some HVACR students will be successful enough to start their own business. There are several in the Athens area who started as students at Athens Tech. One relatively small business with five employees can gross $500,000. That generates tax revenue of $75,000 at 15%. If those five employees are trained at Athens Tech, the cost of their training is less than one year’s tax revenue. Not all students will generate that kind of return, but even a student earning $12 an hour will likely pay back the cost of training in two years. For people who already have a job in HVACR, education makes them more productive. Increased productivity means a better bottom line for the government – more income to tax. It is not necessary to start new programs with new administrative costs; there are already programs and institutions in place with proven track records of training workers for skilled trades. All we have to do is support them.