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

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Abodywantedinmi

Abodywantedinmi

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Hey all
I am going to be starting an after school program for middle school students interested in cars. It will include all brands (with a MoPar slant I suppose) and I am looking for ideas on what to "teach".
Ideas I have are identifying cars, general car maintenace, car searching/buying, part searching/buying, cars in music/film, using car forums and when the weather gets better (it'll be crappy here soon) I will invite local car owners to drive to the school to "show-off" their cars.
Any other suggestions?? Funding is incredibly limited. The community I teach in has a car show that is scheduled near the end of the school year and I will be encouraging them to attend.
Thanks for your input!!
 
Old school muscle car or new school stuff!!! Let me know i have a few ideas that might help...
 
Huge difference between New and Old school! You will have to teach the New and touch on the Old. Basics are still the same. One thing that really hasn't change is the Body end of it! This might be the easiest to teach! All the schools teach here is those damn imports... Kids are crazy for "Fart" can mufflers. LoL!
Good Luck!
 
I think you're right on target. Start with the history to present day as a backround and go from there. When teaching maintenance you can include old and new cars. Arrange a tour of a large dealership service department. Any tech schools or Jr. College's nearby? Another good tour opportunity. Have a local tool dealer come for a visit and scan-tool demo. The kids will love it. toolmanmike
 
You'll probably have to start with the basics of how an engine works and how the power is transmitted to the wheels. The trick is to keep it from being boring. If you can have automotive items on hand in the classroom to demonstrate each phase, it will help keep their interest up over just reading stuff in a book. If you can take field trips to your local so-it-yourself wrecking yard (or if you're lucky, a full service yard) you might be able to get them to sponsor some of the costs. I would also get in touch with a local car club and/or racing club for show and tell. Nothing like having a blown up race engine or other destroyed part to demonstrate what happens when things go wrong!
 
The "What to teach" is a wide open question. Could you zero in on this idea? What is expected of you and such?
What state are you in?
Do you need some donated parts?
 
When I went to vocational school, they had some local Junk Yards donate different rearends from the various auto makers. Chrysler Ford, etc.. And our shop teacher let us tear each one down and put it back together in groups. Then we all had to learn how to do brakes. Everything from doing wheel cylinder rebuilds to cleaning parts and painting. It got to the point where we started timing each other on how fast we could do a complete put together of the pins, springs, adjusters, and shoes.. To this day brakes are still a piece of cake... (sorry I digress..) But I would talk to some local Junk/Salvage yards and see if they will donate.. It will save alot of money, and show everyone nothings ever clean, and to work on a vehicle your gonna get dirty it's just part of the job..
 
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
 
Joe Dokes couldn't have said it any better as a teacher. I think that's the best advice you'll ever get for free!
BUT.. as he so elloquently states.....Safety is Paramount. Glasses are a must. Along with procedures. Rust and dirt find there way in eyes very easily, the use of tools they probably have never seen much less heard of, and possibly weight of pieces and parts you'll be training with..
I wish you the best though, what a cool way to introduce the trade, and our hobby to the younger generations....
 
If you can teach them to keep the tires properly inflaited you're helping LOL
Flaws in how people conduct themselves turn into costly repairs. examples;
A woman will grab her purse with the right hand and the tilt release lever with the left hand. A strong spring will return the steering wheel to its highest position like BAM!. Eventually this will pull the tilt knuckle in there apart.
Consider the McDonalds drive thru..
Run the power window down , place your order then run it up again. Drive to the first "pay for it here" stop and run the window down and up again. On the the "get your food" stop and repeat the window down and up one more time. See the wear going on there ?
If its too cold or raining, park the car and go inside is a better plan. Lets go ahead and spill a little soda or coffee in those switches too.
Grab a half dozen of those air freshener things and place them on the dash vent louvers. Bound to break something. Tailgate that big truck in front of you so the windshield gets a good sandblasting.
Shoving books, soda bottles etc.. under power seats can break things under there too. I've seen too much crap loaded in a glove box until something falls out and damages something behind there. Or the glove box lamp switch gets broken and tomorrows headache is a dead battery.
Turning the ignition switch off before the engine idles down to idle rpm isn't good. Adding 2 gallons of fuel a day to a nearly empty tank is adding more debrie to the fuel system along with wearing out the fuel door release, door parts, seat upholstery, etc..
I could go on all day. LOL
All these little things can keep maintance costs down and resale value up.
Automobiles are designed with a certain level of built in obsolesence.
First the ash tray door wont stay opened or closed, then a power window stops working, one direction of a power seat stops working and eventually there's more wrong that right with the car. Take care of the car and fix what breaks as it breaks.
How to work on a classic car wont help the majority of them at all.
Having a factory service manual might help them diagnose some of the problems encountered with the cars they will be driving but only if they can use a multimeter.
 
You guys are awesome...
Little more background on the class and me.
I am a 15 year veteran teacher, so I know all about the middle school mentality. The program is part of a larger after school program and unfortunately will not be "hands-on" in a shop. It will be discussion and computer/internet based.
The school is very poor economically in Northwest Lower Michigan and we have a large drop out rate. The purpose of the larger program is to encourage students to complete homework, stay in school, make better decisions, etc. My role in all of this is to create a program that appeals to middle school boys and around here, they are all about things mechanical. Fortunately, interest is pretty high in the program and I am already surprised at the knowledge the students have.
Thanks again...any other suggestions, ideas, etc is greatly appreciated!
 
I was way off base then. I was just thinking the student body in general cant be mechanics or even want to be. Boys and girls alike can be responcable owner operators though. Good luck
 
Abodywantedinmi said:
You guys are awesome...
Little more background on the class and me.
I am a 15 year veteran teacher, so I know all about the middle school mentality. The program is part of a larger after school program and unfortunately will not be "hands-on" in a shop. It will be discussion and computer/internet based.
The school is very poor economically in Northwest Lower Michigan and we have a large drop out rate. The purpose of the larger program is to encourage students to complete homework, stay in school, make better decisions, etc. My role in all of this is to create a program that appeals to middle school boys and around here, they are all about things mechanical. Fortunately, interest is pretty high in the program and I am already surprised at the knowledge the students have.
Thanks again...any other suggestions, ideas, etc is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Mostly middle school boys, no hands-on shop available, That better be one heck of a computer program or they'll be bored out of their minds.......
 
With today's youth, you will have to use technology in some way. Maybe use YouTube, or other sites to aid your curriculum.
 
Safety is always first with kids.
Then basic tools and uses. Also the importance of tools being organized.
I like the U tube classes. let the students hunt for them.

Ask scrap metal dealers for donations of materials. A rear end from a scrap dealer has a $7.00 value where a junk yard could be over $100.00

I hope you do well in this quest.
 
Safety? In a classroom setting, what's the worst that's likely to happen? Eyestrain? Carpal tunnel? I'm glad I learned automotive before computers. Getting dirty out in the shop was part of the appeal to me. Learning hands-on is a much better method in the service industries. I've hired book educated people that didn't know which way to turn the wrench because the book didn't tell them and they never had to do it before.
 
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