Why Everyone Should Take an Autos Class

"Michael Woyahn" (michaelwoyahn)
07/13/2015 at 14:58 • Filed to: None

I graduated from high school one month ago and, in between the one million and three grad parties I have attended so far, I have had time to reflect on the vast knowledge I acquired in my years of schooling. In this time, one class has really stood out in my memory: Automotive Technology.

Now, I’ll be honest with you. Before I took this class, I knew absolutely nothing about car maintenance. I had a general knowledge about cars and how they worked, but that was it. If you handed me a wrench, I would have just laughed and handed it back to you. My knowledge was so limited that I was absolutely defeated when I was supposed to help assemble a tool cabinet on the second day of class. I felt so useless that I actually tried to drop autos. Thankfully, I stuck with it.

I can’t say that since I took the class, I’m out working in my garage all the time. My knowledge is still somewhat limited, but now I’m not completely useless. Over time, I completed tasks that I really didn’t think I could do. I changed the oil in the shop car, after spilling so much the puddle on the floor rivaled the BP spill. I changed the tire on a wheel, four wheels, in fact. I even removed the starter and alternator in the shop car. These tasks gave me enough confidence to change the tail light bulb in my family’s Mustang. I won’t sit here and pretend like a bulb change is substantial like an engine swap, but it was more than I would have attempted had I not been in autos.

I also met a bunch of people in that class. We shared !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , checked out each other’s cars, and worked on each other’s cars. We even created a convertible Camry with our shop car, with the approval of our teacher, of course.

In the midst of destroying, I mean transforming, the Camry, my class upgraded the Grocery Grabber.

If you can’t see the upgrade, there’s a Camry badge taped over the Lexus badge.

Honestly, I was nervous to take autos. I knew absolutely nothing compared to the other guys in my class and I did not want to embarrass myself. But, what I needed to know from the start is that Automotive Technology is just a class. You are expected to not know everything. Screw ups are expected, as well. Learning through mistakes is one of the best methods and I took away the most practical and useful knowledge of any class I have ever taken.

DISCUSSION (17)

EL_ULY > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:08

or buy an old BMW.

lol j/k Good write up :]

TheOnelectronic > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:11

You’re lucky. Best we had in my HS was small engine repair. I’m not entirely sure how to change my oil but I can strip and reassemble a lawnmower engine pretty good.

The funny part was when I got to college and joined some of the engineering extracurriculars, no one there had the faintest idea how to work on an engine.

Michael Woyahn > EL_ULY
07/13/2015 at 15:12

I like the way you think haha! Thanks!

E92M3 > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:14

A lot of schools don’t even have it anymore, and that’s a shame. I regret not taking shop in High School. At the time I thought it was all Rednecks with lifted trucks, and I was afraid I wouldn’t fit in. So i took the technology class instead. Can you believe that? I was building bridges out of balsa wood, while they were learning valuable skills they still use today. I ended up becoming a self taught shadetree mechanic anyway with the help of a haynes manual. This was before youtube existed, which is a one of the best resources today for anyone intimidated by wrenching.

dogisbadob > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:15

Nice writeup

Michael Woyahn > TheOnelectronic
07/13/2015 at 15:19

That’s better than I can do! It took me a solid week to take apart and reassemble a weed whacker engine, but that was partially due to taking awful pictures.

That is pretty ironic, but that makes me feel better since I am considering engineering!

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:20

I really wish schools by me offered a class like this. As much as I love cars, I really don’t know the mechanics all that well.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > TheOnelectronic
07/13/2015 at 15:22

My HS has nothing... At all

Michael Woyahn > E92M3
07/13/2015 at 15:26

That is exactly how I felt! I almost dropped it and switched into ceramics. My class was essentially half Rednecks (some with lifted trucks, of course) and half druggies, so I wasn’t very comfortable at the beginning. I made it work after my counselor wouldn’t let me drop the class. I totally agree, YouTube is so helpful! It walked me through how to do many of the tasks that freaked me out.

I think my high school is leaning towards cutting off the program since we had to basically donate money at the end of the year to pay for the supplies we used. It really is sad.

Michael Woyahn > dogisbadob
07/13/2015 at 15:27

Thank you!

Michael Woyahn > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
07/13/2015 at 15:33

I was in the same boat as you and if you want to learn a bit about repairs, Eric the Car Guy on YouTube is great! While this class was a good way to force me to learn, you can definitely teach yourself some stuff.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:44

Youtube makes everything so much easier! Ive learned quite a lot

Michael Woyahn > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
07/13/2015 at 15:47

It really does! I’ve also wasted way more time on it than I would like to admit haha.

E92M3 > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:48

There were guys taking the class only because the teacher let them dip in class. Lol

uofime-2 > Michael Woyahn
07/13/2015 at 15:54

Fear not. I know of mechanical engineers who have graduated and gotten jobs who didn’t know what a phillips head looks like.

Michael Woyahn > E92M3
07/13/2015 at 15:54

Yeah, my class was not quite at that level haha!

Michael Woyahn > uofime-2
07/13/2015 at 16:01

That definitely makes me feel better!