Automotive education for home schoolers from a motorsports perspective

I am starting a project to allow the children of our home school group to purchase and learn how to build a car for SCCA racing. I was wondering if you would like the chance to help support the children in their aspirations to learn all about automotive technologies as a whole. I am investing a considerable amount of time, money, and effort into this project but I cannot cover the costs alone and most of the homeschool families that are interested dont have the money to send their kids to the local community college for autoshop class which would be free or next to nothing investment wise at a local public high school.

We, as parents, want our kids to have the same access to qualified classes as kids attending regular public schools, so I am calling upon my experience growing up in auto shops, and having spent 10 years working in the automotive industry to create an automotive class for our home schooled children (we have about 15 families right now) To teach the everything from the basics of automotive care such as checking tire pressure and fluids all the way to building their own car and starting their own S.C.C.A. race team to compete in Auto Cross events locally, and, hopefully eventually on a national stage should they be fortunate enough. Help our home school kids have all the advantages that are provided to those in public schools. Thank you in advance for giving our kids an even chance to enter the automotive world if thats the direction they choose to go in. Contact information; Ryan Chapman, ryanty22@hotmail.com

http://www.gofundme.com/87e5a0

If you are able to do this, they will be better off than in public schools. Shop classes died (at least) a decade ago in the public system.

Add a "cigarettes are bad" theme, dress as a clown and bring their work to the Challenge.

Id love to do this for the kids, there are several in my homeschool groups that are interested in automotive tehnologies. Several of the public schools around here since I live in the heart of nascar country still have autoshop but most ive found are taught by book learners and not practical application teachers. You can read a 1000 times about replacing a transmission but all that knowledge is worthless until you turn the bolts. I used to be into the street racing scene here but several years ago I gave up my baby, a 64 triumph spit4 with a mazda RX7 turbo 2 engine and drive train and rear end. Damn I miss that cart (the stuff we give up for love)

Wow. Are schools really that bad in your area? Where are you? Mine in the suburbs of NY were just fine.

They usually are. Here in NC they figure that if they make you do all the bookwork in highschool you'll learn the practical application on your own in your garage or after highschool going on to hendrick automotive institute or UTI.

I don't know if the cigarettes are bad theme is right for me seeing as I do like a good Camel menthol

Broke the seal, things are gonna start rolling now. If you cannot donate I completely understand but please share with everyone, facebook it, tweet it out. Lets get kids interested in motorsports. Or at the very least make them competent enough to change their own oil. You never know you could be helping to create the next Ayrton Senna(god rest his soul, greatest ever).

JohnRW1621 wrote: Add a "cigarettes are bad" theme, dress as a clown and bring their work to the Challenge.

It's been done (sans clown nose).

2004 was the first Challenge appearance of "Team Homes Cool". There were 10 of us there, representing the 25 or so homeschoolers who had worked on the car. Placed 13th overall. I'd include pics, but the hosting thing...

Since then, we've had cars for about half of the years that included homeschoolers.

We are working on our $2014 entry right now, with a troup of Boy Scouts (all of whom are homeschoolers).

Bravo, ryanty22. Keep up the good work! Can't donate right now, but will be paying attention, and support as I can.

If you decide to participate in the $2014 Challenge, look me up. It would be fun to have homeschoolers from different locations.

In reply to SVreX: I will definately keep you posted that sounds cool. Right now I'm just trying to get it off the ground and its slow going.

Trust me, I understand.

I've been trying to get homeschoolers motivated on this subject for 10 years.

It's a worthwhile pursuit (though it may not offer too many pats on the back). Keep it up!

I would just like to say this is awesome and I'm going to see what I can contribute (might not be much!).

We need more people like the OP in this world.

Thanks I am trying. Just dont want to see them get into the street racing scene that the wild ass kids without guidance get into (like me years ago), to many accidents, most didnt give a damn about safety, theirs or others. Buried a few friends, two from wrecking while running from the cops. Give the kids a constructive and safe outlet for motorsports.

Awesome Sauce, I have a local performance company here in Indian Trail that although they havent opened their wallets yet they offered shop space and tecchnical assistance for anything big we might do such as tranny work or engine swaps. SCORE

Cone_Junkie wrote: If you are able to do this, they will be better off than in public schools. Shop classes died (at least) a decade ago in the public system.

Really? Some searching of areas around me for secondary level (high school) public automotive service technology programs shows about 35 schools in Kansas, 55 in Missouri, 29 in Oklahoma, and 28 in Arkansas.

Shop classes haven't died. They have been put under the banner of Career and Technical Education (CTE).

To Ranty22: For text books, check out James Halderman. He is the author of the text books used by the majority of the NATEF and ASE accredited automotive programs around the country. You may even be able to find them at the public library.

In reply to theenico: thank you I am definitely am gonna file that away and I don't mean in file 13

I'll second the Halderman text books they are what we use to teach at the local tech school. There are even online instructor's resources like power points available through the publisher Pearson Higher education, but I warn you real text books like these can be expensive new, but trying to find an older edition used might save you a good deal of money. Do you have an idea of what car you want to build first?

If I can get the money for it I found an 86 325es pretty decent condition, runs and looks real rough but the body is straight as an arrow, never been wrecked

Damn talk about a ripoff I contacted office depot about getting some fliers made to hand out at a local drift comp here next week and the next local auto x and they wanted $o.59 per copy, using my $30 lexmark I can do 500 color fliers from home for probably $45 counting ink purchases and good paper. insanity.

by the way heres the link again to help the kids if anyone is interested

http://www.gofundme.com/87e5a0

Sorry for the wait - still interested in contributing. Just waiting for some stuff to clear.

And yes, you don't want Office Depot printing jack squat for you. You'd be much better off using a el-cheapo VistaPrint deal (or other online printing servcie). As long as you don't pile on the the features and add-ons it can be quite inexpensive.

If I had a couple of weeks before the drift comp in charlotte that would be the way to go but only a week til it so I will probably just print them up myself, providing I get the ok and am allowed to hand out fliers there to anyone interested (Emails sent, still waiting on the ok).

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

I would have just shown up with the flyers.

Matt B wrote: I would just like to say this is awesome and I'm going to see what I can contribute (might not be much!). We need more people like the OP in this world.

You know something, you are right.

Donation sent.

Thank you so much. Hopefully I have the chance to buy you a jamisons at some point

Don't need a Jamison- just like to connect with home schoolers.

We've been home schooling for a long time- you weren't in high school yet when we started!