Turning the Wrench, Mechanics Class Empowers TDHS Students with Career Pathway & Real World Skills
Pictured: Mechanics teacher Taylor Alshiemer poses after helping two young mechanics get started with repairs on an El Camino.
by Stephanie Bowen
The smell of oil and metal fill the air as students clatter underneath a 1982 El Camino sitting on the lift.
Students are hard at work, hoods are up and hands are busy.
While it may not look like your typical classroom, it's just another day for Taylor Alsheimer in his Advanced Mechanics class. Nestled in the basement of The Dalles High School, Alsheimer’s room has the feel and function of a real repair shop.
Today, the focus centers around two vehicles in the shop.
The El Camino, perched high on the lift, and an old Honda Civic.
Vehicles come in from a variety of sources, some belong to students or staff members - like the El Camino - and some have been donated to the class as project or parts vehicles. A group of students huddles around, and underneath, the civic as they systematically pull parts to save for other projects.
This Honda Civic was in need of some serious tender loving care making it a perfect project for TDHS students.
The civic is long past the days of being shiny and new - at some point a student has taken the opportunity to paint a galaxy scene amid its dents and rust. Its haggard appearance doesn’t mean much to Alsheimer. He sees the opportunity to learn and practice in each of the vehicles that come into the shop.
“I never intended to be a teacher,” Alshiemer laughs, “I was working as a mechanic and had a buddy that was teaching this class. He was looking to shift gears and focus on building the welding and manufacturing courses for TDHS, so he came to me about potentially taking over mechanics. The district helped me navigate through the process of getting my CTE license.”
Now, six years later, Alsheimer spends his day teaching mechanics from beginners to his current room full of advanced students.
Mechanics courses are another Career and Technical Education opportunity for students at TDHS, exposing them to the automotive industry and providing them with entry-level job skills. The TDHS mechanics courses also benefit from grant funding from Oregon Department of Education’s Career Pathways Program, which seeks to incentivize CTE Programs of Study that lead to high wage and high demand occupations.
Alsheimer’s courses include everything from safety, industry standards, diagnosis and troubleshooting, and of course… repair procedures. Since Alsheimer’s courses build upon each other he has the opportunity to teach many of his students throughout their high school careers as they progress through his classes.
Mechanics Class is in session! Pictured: Two students work together on a Yamaha.
“Some of the students already come with a lot of mechanical knowledge. Kids here come to me after working on farms or being around shops their whole life. But some don’t, for some kids my class is their first experience with mechanics. It’s fun to see them really take an interest and engage” he remarks.
Alsheimer can relate, he didn’t get into mechanics himself until he was an adult.
“I just had a car that wouldn’t run and it all started from there,” he said.
Thankfully, Alsheimer found a good mentor, and now he enjoys the fact that he can help inspire that same passion for mechanics in his students.
The demand for CTE courses has exploded over the past decade and Mechanics is often one of the first electives to fill at TDHS.While he’s never short on students, Alsheimer notes he’d like to see more girls taking his courses. CTE programs such as mechanics, welding and engineering have historically been male dominated while programs such as culinary arts are dominated by female students.
Alsheimer aspires to help shift that narrative.
Today’s class has a few girls but ideally Alsheimer would like to see the numbers closer to 50/50 and he encourages more girls to seek out careers in the automotive industry.
Looking into Alsheimer’s shop, it's no surprise why CTE courses are so successful at keeping students engaged. There isn’t a single student sitting idly, the room is full of concentrated looks cast at the projects at hand. Not only do these courses provide valuable, real-world skills, they are also shown to be an important factor in reducing drop-out rates. Additionally, they can lead students to take higher levels of math and science as they advance into the industry.
Pictured: TDHS students engaged in repairing the El Camino.
Every day is something new in the shop and Alsheimer admits to growing and learning alongside his students.
“I don’t pretend to know it all. Students will come to me with a problem and we get to talk through it and troubleshoot together, it's all a part of the learning process,” said Alsheimer.
At the end of the trimester, students walking out of Mr. Alsheimer’s classes have gotten more than just automotive knowledge under their belt, they’re also walking away with life skills that are hard to teach, like independence, work ethic, and integrity.
Will you help support mechanics education in your community? To donate to Alsheimer’s mechanics program, send an email to alsheimert@nwasco.k12.or.us.
Pictured: Teacher and students inspect an El Camino.
