By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — Why would a man in his mid-70s choose to write a book entitled “Teen Survival Guide: Three Keys to Winning in Today’s Society — Respect, Responsibility and Resolve?”

John O. Tate, a longtime town resident, offered a lengthy yet fascinating answer to that query.
“In June 2002, I read an article about my alma mater, Hope High, and it stated a majority of students there couldn’t read or write, or do simple math,” stated Tate, who’s 76 but doesn’t look it, and still acts as president of Andor Engineering Corp., located a virtual stone’s throw from Route 116. “I was thinking it was such a pity that these kids would be destined to be destitute or in prison because they weren’t being educated properly.
“That story got me upset,” he added. “That’s when I started writing letters to public officials, principals, presidents of universities, etc. I got virtually no responses. What really concerned me, as I waited and waited, was their lack of curiosity of how I would fix the problem. So I started gathering information during business trips, and — when I made one to Switzerland — I talked to other business people, neighbors and others. I asked them to explain the Swiss educational system to me.
“I was amazed when they told me they don’t have any of the problems we do. The fact is, a teacher there would be prosecuted if a student failed to learn. The philosophy there: If a youngster didn’t pass, the teacher had failed to instruct properly. I found that fascinating.
“The other reason I chose to write the book? I was gravely concerned about our national security. In order to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, it’s necessary for them to be able to read and write English, and do simple math, to properly evaluate issues concerning our nation. For example, on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States was attacked, and -- on Dec. 8 -- we had housewives take off their kitchen aprons to wear shop aprons. Overnight, they learned how to read military blueprints, take measurements for military crafts, learn how to operate machinery and weld. At the Providence shipyard, these women were producing one liberty ship a week.
“Now the majority of students graduating from high school are doing so without knowing how to read or write, and it poses several problems to society.”
In his 136-page paperback book, which he hopes will find its way into the curriculum of every junior high and high school in America (with help from corporate sponsors), he addresses those problems in 21 easy-to-read chapters, nine on respect for everyone from the teen-ager himself to family and police; nine on responsibility (civic, educational, work, social and legal, including self-assessment); and three concerning resolve (what it means, with a final message).
There’s got to be something special to his book, as R.I. Supreme Court Justice Frank J. Williams endorsed it, stating, “John O. Tate has written a powerful survival manual -- not only for teen-agers, but for all citizens. Focusing on three core principals -- respect, responsibility and resolve -- he provides a clear and compelling flight plan for achieving personal success under any odds.”

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Amazing thing about Tate? He never attended college.
Still, he insists he’s qualified to speak to today’s teen-agers, especially those who grew up in the inner-city. Here’s why: Tate was raised in what he called a “tough” South Providence neighborhood during the Great Depression, and -- as the son of poor immigrants -- worked odd jobs to help provide for his family. He claimed he had a consummate disciplinarian in his father, who often aided his studies.
“He informed me there was another life on the other side of the tracks, and that -- if I stayed on the straight and narrow -- I could succeed,” Tate offered
Fact is, he did. At age 17, he developed his own business -- “John Tate: Cattle Dealer.” He would travel to Vermont, buy dairy cattle and transport them to his home state. He sold them to dairy farmers, took beef cattle in trade and sold those to slaughter houses.
During the Korean War, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and eventually earned the rank of Second Lieutenant in the infantry. By age 27, he had become vice-president of one of the oldest plastics companies in the nation, and -- two years later -- started his own electronics company, which later expanded into England, France, Germany and Switzerland.
Tate declined to admit he was a millionaire, but said he’s had tremendous success as an inventor of electronic components now in use in the aerospace, military and medical computer fields. He also maintains dozens of patents on such products.
“Throughout my early life -- as a teen-ager and into my 20s and 30s -- I studied engineering, law and accounting at my kitchen table,” he said. “I’m a self-made man, and proud of it. That’s why I want to help these kids. Let’s put it this way: A fair number of my customers are PhD.’s, and they have never known that I do not have a formal degree, yet they call upon me to be a problem solver. For years now, I’ve sat down with those Ph.D.’s, listened to them and discussed their technical problems. They have asked me to  offer solutions.
“I’m still dealing with engineers, physicists, mathemeticians and Ph.D.s, and you can’t fool those people,” he added. “That’s why I feel I’m credible. I have a message, a solution, to bettering our educational system and motivating youths, and I have no doubt it will work.
“The book is for the kids to learn how to better function in society by having those three values. I think the schools are failing to motivate students. Many of them come out of one-parent homes, and they don’t have a father or mother who act as mentors, to motivate and guide like my father did. I think the problem starts in the home with a lack of discipline and motivation, then it continues into the classroom because the teacher can’t do the job of the parents.
“The net result is a lot of the teachers are demotivated, threatened by a student who thinks he or she can get away with bloody murder. To solve the problem, a root-cause analysis needs to be made, taking into consideration poverty, poor health, lack of parental motivation and guidance and peer influences. Failure to address these problems results in a nationwide academic epidemic, which places our national security at risk.”

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Tate, who for two years spent weekends composing it, referred to his book as an overview as to how teen-agers could become stalwarts in society, whether or not they attend college.
“I intend to go to the schools, take one chapter and break it down for them in a single session,” noted the father of five and grandfather to four. “I didn’t want it to be so thick that it would turn off the kids. I just provided the basics so, once they read the information, they can recognize it for what it is, and apply such information to their own situations.”
On page 134, Tate delivered this thought: “It is up to you to stop the downward slide into despair and poverty. How can you be part of the ‘Recovery Generation?’ First, stay in school and learn all you can. Realize that education is key to your future ability to earn money. Next, think about what you want to do to earn money. Through internships or apprenticeships, expose yourself as early as possible to careers that you think you may want to pursue. When you combine formal education with real-life experience, you will be taking a huge step toward lifelong financial independence.”
As for the last, he asked students to claimed: “Establish your flight plan, make course corrections as necessary, and avoid anyone or anything that will take you off course. By demonstrating respect, responsibility and resolve in your teen years, you will set the course for a life of peace, freedom and prosperity.”
Tate claimed he already has received a few phone calls from media around the country, including one from California. Likewise, he said his publisher -- AuthorHouse of Bloomington, Ind. -- has drawn a query from the television show “Oprah.” He hopes an appearance on a broadcast will come to fruition.
“What I want eventually is to get all the heads of universities and colleges in Rhode Island -- and heads of public corporations, including school officials and every politician at the State House -- into one room,” he said. “In one hour, I’ll give them the problem and solution.
“I won’t reveal that solution until I’m there speaking to them,” he added with a smile. “If they’re responsible, sincere individuals, they will take that information and make it reality. I want them to run with it.”