Michigan High School Teacher Trains Students in Automotive Maintenance

A high school in Michigan is training students in automotive maintenance to provide new career options, reports The Daily Press.

After teaching wood shop for seven years, Mark Cousineau began to notice that the school had an auto shop that wasn’t being used. 

After inquiring the school’s principal, Andy Jacques, about the possibility of holding one hour of auto shop a day, they surveyed how many students would be interested. Cousineau and Jacques soon realized they would have enough interested students to make up a class.

Now, Cousineau leads a class of 18 students each school day, teaching them how to perform tasks such as changing a vehicle’s oil and checking tire pressure. Students have also been performing oil changes for teachers and staff members at the school.

Using a 2013 Ford F-150 donated to the class, students have also completed the replacement of a water pump and fuel pump. Following a few touch ups, the students will sell the car, putting the funds towards equipment, parts, and more vehicles to work on.

This past Monday, the students were checking the tire pressure on a Bronco SUV, and—for the first time—learning to flush the coolant on a 1994 Chevy truck.

As Principal Jacques shared, while some kids have a hard time in traditional classroom settings, the auto shop has allowed for them to find other ways to flourish and hone their skills.

“Some kids struggle in a classroom, but they are top students in the auto shop class,” said Jacques. “It’s fun to see them light up when they come in here. So, it’s a reason for them to come to school.”