I'm starting an after school auto program for middle school students...any ideas?

Middle School? Good luck with that, I taught middle school for 11 years (now at high school), the main key is to have a firm planned out idea of EXACTLY what you want to teach.

Have a plan of what you're going to do when a kid doesn't pay attention.

Have a plan of what you're going to do when a kid gets a smart mouth.

Especially in the beginning you'll need to plan extensively, here are a couple of things about teaching that will help in your planning.

1. Assume your students know absolutely nothing, if you didn't personally teach it to them, assume they don't know it.

2. Language of the discipline. Your students will not know ANY car terminology besides the word NOS from the Fast and Furious. You will need to teach them language of the car repair. For example, if you are doing a lesson on brake repair, ASSUME the don't know the following terms: rotor, caliper, master cylinder, wheel cylinder, drum, turn as in turn the rotors or turn the drums, brake line...... Assume they don't have a clue how the brake system works.

3. Safety is paramount, teach them safety and give them a quiz on safety procedures. This way if one of the little munchkins gets hurt because they didn't follow the safety rules. You can show the parents the test, that the kid passed, that he should have known better. Also make sure EVERY kids has a pair of safety glasses.

4. Have a set procedure for the classroom portion. Including rules for where to sit and when to speak. Middle schoolers are like dogs, they like structure.

5. Start with the basics of car maintenance, and in the process describe how the car works. If the kid sticks around for say three months, they should know enough to at least care for any future car they own. They should learn to look at the owners manual to determine how often to change the oil, water etc.

Hope this helps

Good Luck, You're gonna need it. ;)

Oh, one more thing, middle schoolers are wild, they are like one giant hormone whose figured out that they are at the bottom of life's hierarchy, and for this reason they are often pissed. That being said, the cool thing about middle schoolers is they are not completely jaded. If you make up a stupid song for the parts of a motor, they will gleefully sing it. If you tell them to make up a song and dance about catalytic converters they will sing it with all their heart. Basically, if you get a middle schooler on your side, and convince him that you are actually teaching him something, he'll do what you want. Often, he'll even do it joyfully, though rambunctiously.

Regards,

Joe Dokes