Terry and I were recruited to teach an after-school class in Morse code (CW) in Milford. It was fun, but I would not say that it was very successful; for none of the students passed the 5 wpm test although several were making progress. Perhaps the kids were too young or it was too big a challenge for the time that we had available. Perhaps too, my years of teaching at university levels was inadequate preparation for the more difficult job of keeping a class of this age motivated and focused on a single task.
Nevertheless, we and most of the students enjoyed ourselves. In the years that followed, perhaps some of the young people here did progress further toward Amateur Radio.
You may notice that I am using a laptop (Toshiba). I had a DOS program in the computer that served as an oscillator which sent the audio signal through the black cable to the little Radio Shack amplifier that is on the table. This allowed me to "send" the characters to the class by tapping a key on the computer. It was a very useful program in other contexts as well; for it could read code, displaying the letters on the screen, and could store the text in a file for later reading if desired.
Other than this, we did not have any equipment for the class. I think that there was a school rule at the time against the children having access to electronic equipment... some concern about safety or insurance. I would have preferred that every kid have an oscillator (and earphones) for himself or for groups of 2 or 3: it would have improved motivation and feedback.
I was never a CW maven. My fastest speed was 13 wpm (words per minute), but I really had to work hard to pass the test at that speed. I could (and can) send at that speed, but copying (reading) it is another story. I had taught myself the code using the computer and shortwave broadcasts. However, sound is not a physical sense that my brain seems to be organized around; so I would make an exceptionally poor musician.
On the other hand, I remember meeting a young man who was in Navy communications, and I listened as he read a blast of sound that was above 50 wpm. From my perspective of a stressful 13 wpm, it was astounding. From his perspective, it was easy because he could read much faster. As he said, I do this all day for a living.
After we had talked for a while, I learned a basic difference between how our minds worked in regard to the code. Other than for a few common and short words which I could comprehend as a whole, I listened for letters in the code, recognized them, turned them into visual letters in my mind, remembered 5 or 6 letters at a time, and then read the visual letters to comprehend the word. In other words, I had to do a lot of thinking during the process: a very inefficient way to go. It was like walking compared with flying when you contrast my method with his.
He bypassed the translation of code into letters or into any construction of words from the letters. For him, the sound itself was the language; he comprehended the code in whole sentences or paragraphs. He could think and talk and listen in code. The letters were as invisible to him consciously as are the spelling of words when you and I are talking with each other. It was simply a language in itself.
I had heard something similar in Korea years before when I had visited a signal company for a few minutes. Very impressive.
Jean Shepard was a radio personality who spun stories about his upbringing and commented with cheerful humor about the world. We used to listen to him regularly and always enjoyed his programs. He was a "ham" in both senses: not only as a professional in the show business of radio broadcasting but also as an Amateur Radio operator. One time, he described how he had learned the code: in the US Army school during the war. He had been assigned to the Signal Corps.
Talking about those weeks of training, he said something like -----everybody says that it is very hard to learn the Morse code, almost impossible, but we had a special incentive. Anyone who did not learn the code during the training was sent to infantry and from there to combat. You can believe that we learned the code. We lived it and breathed it and dreamed in it almost 24 hours a day. We never stopped thinking about it. We gave up talking to each other with words even during our free times. The Army had given us the greatest incentive in the world. With that incentive, you will learn the code.