Technical What to teach high school kids?

Hey all, Grandview High School shop teacher here. So, we've got an old 49 ford, and El camino, a nova. We also have an eclipse gsx turbo build going on. A 3000gt vr4 twin turbo. Other stuff too. But I wanted to hear YOUR thoughts. What skills/tasks would you teach a total newbie first? I've got a lot of the book work stuff all planned out, but I want to revamp my program some next year. For my entry level class I want them doing more hands on. So I'm trying to come up with the top 10 most important general maintenance items that a person should know. Thus far I have always ran my intro course as a primer for my advanced classes. Heavy in theory, that way when I get them in advanced we can focus on hands on. But I want to try something new. Make it so if they only ever took my intro course that they'd walk away with most of the life skills a car owner would need.

So obviously, I have my own lost, but I wanted to hear what you guys had to say. I only get these kids for a few months and about 40 minutes a day. Not a lot of time. So try to focus on average car owner stuff more than car enthusiast/gear head. I'm saving that stuff for the upper level classes.

 

Basic auto care. Oil types and change intervals and why. Tires and how to interpret tire wear. Changing a tire without a cell phone (plug at an emasculating insurance commercial). Tools and their proper uses. Basic engine theory the Otto cycle. Get a junkyard 4 banger donated and let them tear it apart.

 

Electrical basics.

 

How to properly and safely jack up a car and support it to work on.

 

How to get their hands dirty...






Leaking oil? No, sweating horsepower

 

Manners, respect, and check the air in the tires once a week. The ones that are honestly into it will seek you out for more.

 

I'll tell you something that my dad taught me that has served me well my whole life. "Fix what you know is wrong."

I can't tell you the number of times I have seen someone chase their tail for hours, only to find that the gremlin they thought they had was a crazy symptom of something they should have already fixed.

I teach a couple of IT security classes at the college level. Troubleshooting is the hardest thing to get across to my students.

 

Hi. Unless they are better educated than those down here you need to teach the to read & write and do simple math. The high School kids around here are totally illererate unless they can do it on a computer. Cannot do even simple math without a computer and nobody can read anything they write. And the schools encourage this it seems.
Back in the late 50's when I was in high school they taught us all that. I went 2 years of half days to a local state ran trade school while in high school that taught all building crafts, auto mechanic and pain & body. I took the paint & body and loved it.
Good luck Jimmie.

 

I teach a HS collision class we just built this with our automotive class with help from the welding dept.

its was used in a "rat rod " buildoff between other HSs

that 40 minutes sucks, we have almost 90 and that is not enough
students need to see an end/result to a project to keep them interested, we struggle keeping small stuff to do this with
I use motorcycle tanks and various body panels in my class for small lessons
its a little harder for the automotive guys on small stuff
I don't know if I would teach 1st year students electrical due to the maturity level, for me, electrical is for more advanced students (with the exception of understanding a basic circuit)
I would concentrate on basic maintenance for 1st year students.....oil, filters, tire wear, safety, how to lift, proper grooming, reading work orders and why that is important, basic car cleaning, introduction to scan tools ....
We have 3 electric race cars that are built and maintained by our students, basically an electric go cart with a cool body.
These are excellent teaching tools for basic electricity and alignment, plus the students like the competition, we went to 3 races this past year between other schools
One thing that is often overlooked is demonstrating/teaching students to look folks in the eyes, shake hands, speak up and form complete sentences.
Small engines are good basic ways to teach how an engine works, students can tear those apart, measure, reassemble
somewhat cheaply and quickly.
unfortunately with most schools, the donated cars can be worked on but not driven, that sucks
We have driven our (my) bus over 3k miles and 5 states since we finished it less than 2 months ago.
I drive it to our local rod runs, local shows and even to a national show, Students really get stoked talking with people about this project at shows/runs
It has gotten a lot of local attention, a front page on our local paper and 6k worth of tool grant money for my class and our automotive class. 2 magazines have requested info on the bus for upcoming articles.
Our state board of ED folks have even kept up with the build.
Pick out one of those cool projects you have and plan a build with the students, (let them make decisions and use as many of their ideas as possible) find a show/event to debut it at and you may be surprised how some of the students will take ownership. We had students working after school and on weekends on our bus and after it was 'finished' many asked what was next because they were going to miss spending that extra time at school.

on a side note, I have some students more than one class a day, schools usually put students in classes they don't need like an extra PE just to have a place for them.
Ask if you can use your class as an option for this, the students we did this with this year passed all their ASE tests (that makes the office folks happy)

 

Brake jobs, both discs & drums.

All cars- whether gas, diesel, or electric- have brakes.

 

Sadly, you're probably going to have to start with the VERY basics, like hand tools, what they are and what they are for. Fractions and how they relate to metric, and how to convert back and forth. Righty tighty, lefty loosey level stuff.I like the suggestions about the minor maintenance items, probably the same things you taught your wife and kids.
I know you think I might be exaggerating, but we get "tech scholars" here at work, kids already out of high school and supposedly halfway through a tech school maintenance course and they cant really DO anything. All struggle with anything that isnt a hammer or a screwdriver. I kid you not, one was baffled by a ratchet that turned the wrong way for what he wanted to do.
I admire you for your patience and your willingness. Good Luck

 

crap, I forgot about that!!!

basic hand tool stuff
on my first day of teaching, I asked a student for a Phillips screw driver.........and got a blank stare

 

I agree with what's been said, start with real basics, oil change, change a headlight bulb (without touching it) or any bulbs for that matter, changing a spare tire (no donut spare on the front drive wheel doing 80 on the highway), safely jacking and supporting a car, jump starting and how to replace/charge a battery. How to check fluids (transmission warm and engine running vs motor oil, don't open a hot radiator, ect).

Those would all be great things for anyone who drives to know how to do. If they have cars they can bring in, it'd be great to show everyone where their jack is, make sure the spare is inflated, how to get at bulbs, ect.

 

I'll add that it's a great thing you're doing, and remember they're just kids with probably minimal or no experience with anything mechanical, don't take anything they "should already know" for granted. Everyone had to start somewhere, and even the pros make rookie mistakes once in a while.

 

Rules of working safely. And....... "PUT MY DAMN TOOLS BACK WHERE YOU FOUND "EM!"

 

And stay off my yard!

 

USE A RUBBER!!!!!!

 

Is it Grandview Washington?

 

Rex-a-lot is right. Newbies need basic. Those kids that are already wrenching will get bored. Set them up in small groups with the already wrecnhing as group leaders.

I attended a driving school back in the early sixties and they started with basic knowledge about how a auto worked. Starting with the 4cycle engine then built on from there. Basic cartoon pics. It was great.

They need to know how to use the wrenches too. Which way a wrench is applied. Why the open end wrench jaws are angled etc. How to leverage a lugnut that won't come off with out slipping the lug wrench off.

Can't tell you how many young men came into the wrenching business I was in that had never picked up a tool before. They should stay away from those shows with the guys showing how easy it is to work. Detroit muscle, truck teck two guys. They make it look sooo easy.

Hands on and demos by you and maybe some youtube vids.

Sounds like you have some great projects going there. Try to get a retired mech to volunteer some time, maybe after school too. HAHA, luck, Bob.

 

As an instructor at a trades college for apprenticeship training I will say one of the biggest things we stress is to use service information. If you don't know how something is supposed to work you cannot fix it!


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That education/learning never stops.

 

We talked about what is important in one of my graduate level classes many years ago.

I will never forget the comment that one of the other teachers in that class made. He said that we should hold the students heads under water for a minuet or so. It would teach them what is really important in life. That air is much more important than a pair of Nike tennis shoes or the latest computer. He did not mean that we should actually hold their heads under water, but that we should make them realize what is most important. Once we determine the things that are most important it easier for us to set goals and work towards achieving those goals. This thought does not have much bearing on your specific question but it came back to me when I read your question.

Good luck to you. I am glad you are doing what you do.

John

 

I guess this sounds like I am a cheerleader for Mr. Myrick but he is the kind of teacher those students will remember all their lives and anyone would do well to follow his lead. The benefits his program has reaped have been enough for the state Board of Ed to take notice. The emphasis generally put upon Advanced Placement classes in the US is not the answer, what is needed is to fit every student to the type of program they are suited to. English, reading comprehension, mathematics and science are needed for a strong foundation for the manual arts, the same as it is for a college prep program.
Others have posted some great comments, like starting with the basics, following good safety practices and so forth, and I completely agree. I wonder if an aptitude test would help to screen those who should start there, with the others having a class available that has a broader, more hands on format.

 

EXCELLENT THREAD!!!!!

 

I have been an Automotive tech for 20 years and almost two years ago I started teaching at a postsecondary level at a trade school.
I teach pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship.
Every once in awhile I teach a trade discovery course. I have them for 30 hours in one week to engage them and try and show them why this trade kicks ass. Not an easy task to do.
The obvious is safety and more safety first, then hand tools and use and more safety.
But what I focus on is basic maintenance, what they may be able to do at home. So correct oil change procedure and choosing the correct oil for the car. Basic tire maintenance and knowing when they have become dangerous and need replacement. Basic brake jobs. Basic engine operation and ignition.
There is not enough time to dig deeper. But where the slight glamour in it, is in the lessons. I always include the performance side of the industry. Throw in small discussions about boring and stroking, cam shaft upgrades, what a performance reflash on their 2004 Honda Civic. Brake rotor upgrades, that sort of stuff. Keep it relative to what their interests are and have some fun with it.
You may already have this going, but have you ever put any thought into some sort of race car program. In my high school we had a 1965 GTO we built and drag raced as part of a local high school drag race program. Every 3rd Friday we got to go to the local drag strip. The students did all the loading and prep and we got to take turns running it down the 1/4 mile. It was a blast.
If not drag racing, maybe track racing, anything along those lines will keep them engaged. It is way too advanced for these beginners that you have but, it will entice them to continue on with it. You could then have the students do some small work or maintenance on the race car.
Another option, would be to have your basic class start with engines, simple 4 stroke lawn mower engines. They learn basic safety, tools, hand skills and maintenance as well engine operation. They also get to tear down an engine which is always engaging. That will give them a good intro into the trade and those that that are not suited for it will not continue.
You are obviously in it for the students and that is great to hear. Sounds like whatever you do will be successful. Good luck

 

thanks
as for the aptitude test, that's a no go
we are required by law to teach ALL students no matter aptitude or disability

our state recognizes technical classes that we teach as math, science and art credits
this helps us snag some students on an advanced diploma

I, along with my automotive teacher are working on having our shop classes count as a CO-OP credit
this allows a student to spend half of a school day with us, we plan to evolve this into shop apprenticeships

 

Only 40 minutes a day? That means you're going to have to pack a lot of material into a very short time and the slow learners are going to suffer. I agree with everybody who said start with basics.
When I was in our shop class in the 60s, we went into depth about automotive history. Things like car's improvements from the 1890s to the present. Sadly you won't have time to do anything but scratch the surface.
But our class was about an hour and a half, 5 days a week. I took all 3 years of school shop and in the last semester of my senior year, I was assistant instructor. Those classes helped to launch my career. IMHO, shop classes are very important. You have an opportunity to change and mold young minds for the rest of their lives...an awesome responsibility that I'm sure you realize.
Our instructor got control of the class the first day. Some slacker was disrupting class and he got a "whack!" . The whack board was a 1"X6" board with holes drilled in it. Bend over and grab your ankles WHACK! You never forgot that sting..If he wouldn't have done that our class would have been out of control like "Chucky Turtle's" wood shop class.
I bow to your, sir....for teaching these young people to possibly begin a career for themselves.
BTW, we students were allowed to work on our own high school beaters as shop projects. Hands-on experience is sooooooo much better than reading it out of a book.
Good luck to you and your students.

 

I think you should maybe get a local car club to bring some of their hot rods to a class, or have an "outing" somewhere to peak the student's interest. That way it might not seem too boring to those who might not want to be in school at all. Show them the end result. My thoughts anyway.

 

This is true.

The kids have to have the want to learn, or they probably won't. I wanted to learn about cars. I was blessed to have a dad that is into cars, so I could watch and learn and ask questions, and hang out in the garage and have hands on experience early in life. Give them the very basics, and let them know that they can ask questions if they have them; that's just my opinion. If they are truly interested, then they'll find a way to figure it out on they're own. If what you're doing inspires one teen to start a hot rod project, then I think it's awesome. But it's truly up to them if they want to learn about cars or not. I personally haven't seen many teens that care about it enough to learn, but hopefully what you're teaching lights a spark in some of these teens!

This is also true, and very unfortunate. Saddening even.

 

THIS is most important.

Teach them how to deal with difficult bolts, stripped out screws.

Teach them that Japanese cars don't use metric screws. I meet experienced mechanics that still try to use Phillips pattern screwdrivers on JIS screws.