Bring back auto mechanics class

[Ziggster]

In our third year mechanical engineering class, we all had to take a machine shop class for a semester at the local trade school. No issues for me as I had taken it already in high school along with woodworking. It was interesting to say the least watching some of the novices have to make something from scratch.

[3738]

Here in San Jose, CA we have a campus called the Central Counties Occupational Center. It is as some have said a catchall for those not interested in getting a regular high school education. They have carpentry, computer, engine rebuilding, trans rebuilding and automotive body repair and painting. I have had my 70 Camaro and 72 El Camino both repaired and repainted by these otherwise troubled youths.


I used to take my Camaro and El Camino to local drive-in car show get togethers and thru the years the occasional bystander would say "I worked on your car at the CCOC." After chatting awhile, it turns out each and everyone I spoke to had jobs in the industry and were quite happy with that.

[frnkeore]

Some people here talk like taking shop classes have no value. They do teach both motor and cognitive skills, at the same time, in a enjoyable way. Some take the class as a easy way but, if the shop teacher is good, it won't be so easy. You can fail shop classes, too.

If you can catch a kids interest in shop classes, you may have "saved" them from more troubled lives. It won't work for all but, if you can spark someone learning desire, it can change their life and bring much more happiness to them than hanging out with the wrong crowd.

You need to find what a kids is interested in and then show them how a education, will enhance it and what direction their studies need to take.

It can make all the difference in the world and make it so, you enjoy what you do for a living, not work, just to make a living.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by frnkeore

Some people here talk like taking shop classes have no value. They do teach both motor and cognitive skills, at the same time, in a enjoyable way. Some take the class as a easy way but, if the shop teacher is good, it won't be so easy. You can fail shop classes, too.

If you can catch a kids interest in shop classes, you may have "saved" them from more troubled lives. It won't work for all but, if you can spark someone learning desire, it can change their life and bring much more happiness to them than hanging out with the wrong crowd.

You need to find what a kids is interested in and then show them how a education, will enhance it and what direction their studies need to take.

It can make all the difference in the world and make it so, you enjoy what you do for a living, not work, just to make a living.

You need to find what a kids is interested in and then show them how a education, will enhance it and what direction their studies need to take.

It can make all the difference in the world and make it so, you enjoy what you do for a living, not work, just to make a living.[/QUOTE]


This. If you agree with this statement, I urge you to read Shop Craft as Soul Craft.

[Hoop]

Funny that nobody in this thread has mentioned the US military as a source for vocational training ... and for a college education as well.

There was a time when those kicked-out or dropped-out had ample opportunity in the service. Today you have to bring some smarts with you ... the hard cases stay in school where they are entitled to a diploma and can't be expelled.

[frnkeore]

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I agree that the military is a good place to learn and adjust any attitude issues a kid might have.

I was drafted 3 1/2 years, after HS. I was already a mechanic and my MOS became a mechanic but, I did learn many things in the wheeled and track vehicle schools I went to. It was one of the few enjoyments I had in service. I'm not a conformist and I was drafted 3 days before my 21st Bday so, much of the military was a challenge to me but, I don't regret it. It helps boys and young men, to "grow up".

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Hoop

Funny that nobody in this thread has mentioned the US military as a source for vocational training ... and for a college education as well.

There was a time when those kicked-out or dropped-out had ample opportunity in the service.

So true! Because of the training I received during my four years in the service, I have earned far above average wages and have never known unemployment. But back then, I had a military obligation hanging over my head - the draft. I decided to kill two birds with one stone - the draft and learning a skill. Best four years I ever spent even though there was a shooting war going on...

[Tinker]

I've been trying to get my sister to get her adopted son in the Navy for over a yr. He wants to be in the coast guard. Would be good for him.

[63tango]

I was in H.S. in the 80s and probably got the tail end of shop classes at all high schools, which is a sin. I took a lot of woodshop and auto shop and loved it so much that I've been a mechanic/technician ever since. Also did 4 years in the Army as a track vehicle mechanic. If they didn't have shop classes in high school chances are good I wouldn't have showed up much. They need to put shop classes back in all high schools ASAP.

[1948F-1Pickup]

I've been in the automotive aftermarket or OE side my whole life. Currently I work for a parts manufacturer that makes bearings here in the states. I'm not directly involved, but have more than a passing knowledge of the current situation of automotive vocational training.
Basically we are facing a really really bad situation with regard to qualified technicians. The numbers currently are 40K hot bodies graduate out of school annually with auto related degrees. Around 120k are needed annually in the market. Over the next few years, those numbers pencil out to the need for something well in excess of a million bodies......... need is accelerating not declining.
Much as our military facilities which had been greatly demilitarized just prior to 9/11 and have seen a resurgence, our high schools and colleges had been neutered as far as automotive training is concerned and have been slowly seeing a Renaissance.
There is an organization based in Phoenix (Techforce) that underwrites scholarships for students that are interested in automotive careers as techs.
Their CEO, Jennifer Maher, is both automotive industry and politically savvy.
A good example of a now flourishing auto program can be found at Solano Community College in Vallejo CA.
http://www.solano.edu/auto/

There are a few others as well. It'll take awhile to get this stuff back on track but it seems to be coming out of hibernation.