[My father] didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

Kelland’s line frames parenting and moral education as primarily demonstrative rather than didactic. The father’s authority comes not from lectures or rules but from the credibility of a life visibly lived with consistency. The speaker’s learning is observational: character is “caught” through daily example—how one works, treats others, handles setbacks—more than it is “taught” through instruction. The quote also implies a quiet humility in the father: he does not position himself as a preacher, yet his conduct becomes a practical curriculum. Its enduring appeal lies in its concise defense of integrity as the most persuasive form of guidance.