MADISON CAREER AND TECHNICAL CENTER
AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE CLASS BREAKDOWN
Instructor Information:
Name: Dale McCraw/ASE certified Master Tech, G1 MLR, A9 Diesel, and L1 Specialist, ETL program evaluator, & National Board Certified Instructor
Address: 379 Calhoun Station Parkway, Madison, MS. 39110
Phone: 601-859-6847
Email: dmccraw@madison-schools.com
Covid 19 Prevention
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/controlprevention.html
Conference Hour: 7:30 am – 8:30 am. The best time to contact me is in the morning before classes start or at the end of the day after 3:15 pm. The easiest way to contact me is through my email as I check it many times throughout the normal day.
Welcome:
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to my class. For some reason you have chosen to take this class as it is an elective. I hope it is to learn all you can about Automotive Service for your personal or professional use. Contrary to popular belief this class is very hard and challenging both mentally and physically. Today’s Technicians must be very smart and very diligent in their work ethic, continued education, and persistence. Diagnosing complex computerized systems, wiring, and components takes a lot of hard work in Mitchell on demand, the textbooks, and the shop. I want you to know up front that you will be doing math, science, as well as a lot of reading in here. Once we understand all the parts, know the system, speak the language, choose the right tools and formulate a plan of action, we can then work in the shop on the car.
Things you will need:
· Paper to write on and a binder to keep things in as well as your fully charged Mac Book
computer. It is your responsibility to charge your computer at home. Do not ask to charge it here
in class.
- Proper foot wear and clothing for the shop
- LAB FEE of $25.00 and Skills USA FEE of $20.00 for a Total of $45.00 which will be paid for on the MY SCHOOL BUCKS WEBSITE
- Go online to my school bucks on the madison county schools site and pay both fees
Grading Scale:
- 90-100 A
- 80-89 B
- 79-70 C
- 69-65 D
- 64-0 F
Goals of the Program:
The program goals are to train our students for entry level job placement in the automotive industry and/or to prepare them for post secondary training. Students will be trained to the level of MLR (Maintenance and Light Repair) in all areas of ASE from A1-A8 with an emphasis on Safety and Shop Operations for each area. Students will be prepared for employment through guided practice in filling out applications, creating Resumes, and participating in mock interviews. The program will also prepare students for employment through training and reinforced conduct expectations during participation and shop grades which will include honesty, work ethics, and application of effort during all tasks. Our ultimate goal is to equally prepare you for work in the automotive field as well as prepare you for life as a productive member in all aspects.
Attendance:
· You will need to be in attendance every day that you can in order to receive your daily grades. It will be very difficult to keep up with your classmates and your individual work if you are habitually absent. This class is the equivalent of several normal classes in one day so the amount of work that you will miss when absent far exceeds what you are accustomed to.
Grading: (66% for tests, major projects, and papers and 34% for daily work, classwork, homework, and quizzes )
· Classroom work: Essays, homework, today’s class, bookwork, quizzes, and end of term testing, and finals. I try to keep homework to a minimum but there will be occasions where I will ask and expect you to do work for me. Working independently through other informational sources like today’s class, other publications, and websites will help you to grasp the concepts and functionality of the automotive subsystems much faster. The more work you do on your own the easier the classroom and shop will become.
· Participation: This grade is based on showing up prepared to work with the appropriate items like homework, notebooks, and writing utensils. It is also based on the way in which you contribute which should always be in a positive manner in alignment with the subject matter being taught.
· Shop Work: How hard you work and stay on task in order to finish the job at hand.
· Safety: Everything we do has some safety concern involved that you must know and observe. Safety Glasses must be worn at all times from the moment that you enter the shop until the instructor announces the end of the day. Any violation of the safety rules is an automatic grade deduction, possible shop time loss, and or may be cause for dismissal from the program depending on the severity. There is no tolerance at all for safety violations in the shop. All of us depend on each other for the safety of everyone in the shop. Examples of safety infractions would be, not wearing safety glasses, (which must be worn at all times),horse play, poor driving habits in or around the shop, or lack of observing established safety rules such as using jack stands, wheel blocks, and lift locks. REMEMBER: you have to pass a safety exam with 100% accuracy in the classroom before you may go into the shop.
· Clean up: at the end of every shop day our first priority is to get all tools back to their appropriate storage places. Then you will need to clean up any mess that you or your group made during the day. After that you will need to participate in the general shop cleanup. Failure to clean up will result in shop time loss. If you can’t clean up then you don’t need to work and make a mess.
· Testing: You will be tested through quizzes, end of chapter tests, shop performance, and finals including end of term. (See performance and shop grading rubrics for specific area grading criteria)
Shop Projects:
· What can I work on: You may work on anything based upon the internal combustion engine with my approval? If it is non-automotive you will need to supply the appropriate manuals yourself if you want to work on it.
· What if I need parts? It is the schools policy that all parts be purchase ahead of time by you. If we do get into a bind and find ourselves needing a part that we didn’t foresee then we can have Orielly’s in Canton deliver them. This can only happen if you have a check or cash to pay for the parts when they arrive.
· When can I drive to the MCTC: With my approval and the approval of Mr Zumbro, you may drive a car to the school only after filling out the proper documentation and paperwork .You must always drive carefully and slowly on campus and especially when entering or leaving the shop. NO CARS SHOULD EVER BE MOVED IN THE SHOP WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT. You must also have a valid driver’s license and insurance in order to even be considered to drive to school. Any cars left as projects during off hours must also be approved and insured. No one may drive cars to school or on school property without a driver’s license and insurance!
· All Cars will be parked in the front parking lot in the corner near the school sign with the front end facing the school and the signed paperwork on the dash in plain site.
Tools:
· This shop has almost every tool and or piece of equipment that is necessary for or needed to
perform almost any job that you can imagine within our competency guidelines as set forth by
the MS. Department of Education.
· The types of tools range from very large lifts, an alignment rack, tire balancers and arm lifts, to
very specialized items such as DVOM’s, oscilloscopes, gas analyzers, meters, and other testing
equipment.
· We also keep a growing list of pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric tools as well.
· It is your responsibility and a requirement that you learn all basic hand tools by name,
description, operation, proper use, storage, and safe handling.
· If a tool is broken you need to report it immediately to your instructor. Not doing so could cause
someone who uses it later to be injured.
· Tools and equipment may never be borrowed or loaned out from this shop so please do not ask
to do so as the instructor has no power to loan them.
· The care, maintenance, and upkeep of all the tools and equipment in the shop ensures that we
can use future funds to expand this list rather than waste it by replacing stolen and or broken
items. All of us need to take on a role of ownership of this shop so that it will be in great shape
for everyone in the program to use.
Health Insurance:
· It is recommended that you have a personal health policy in case of injury.
Skills USA is our current student organization: www.skillsusa.org
· Skills USA is our career and technology club. Through it the students will learn leadership, business,
and work skills and can hold chapter officer positions.
· Students may compete at local, district, state, and even National levels.
· Skills USA is an integral part of the Mississippi Department of Education’s criteria for our Career
and Technical Program, Automotive Service.
· The participation, and knowledge gained through Skills USA can help you down the road with
scholarships, awards, college grants, and even employment.
· Current dues are expected to be $15.00 per student
Building and Grounds:
· It is everyone’s job to treat our building and grounds with total respect by taking care of it as if it were our own. It is up to all of us to keep it in the best condition possible. Vandalism and or property destruction has no place here and will not be tolerated. Report any damage or anyone damaging this facility to anyone on staff at any time that you observe it.
Vehicles:
As previously mentioned you will be allowed to drive to the career center with the proper paperwork and permission. You will be allowed to do work on the vehicle once it is here as long as the instructor agrees, you supply all parts and materials, and you work within your abilities as you are the one who must ultimately finish what you start.
You are also responsible for what is inside of any vehicle that you bring in even if you do not own it. Make sure before you leave for school that you have checked in the ashtrays, glove box, console, under seats, and in the trunk for anything that should not be brought to school. If your instructor comes across anything deemed illegal or prohibited from school it will immediately be reported to the administration. It is also important that you realize that many of the criminal punishments in our legal system have double the time and fines when they happen on or around school property.
It is a privilege to get to drive to school and to use the school’s shop facilities. Treat each time with this in mind that you bring a vehicle to school. Plan ahead by getting all your parts the day before and look up the procedure ahead of time, print it out, and have it studied before you begin work. Bring a blank check or some spending money the day you work on your car in case you have something pop up and need to order something from the parts store. You have to pay upon delivery. Take advantage of the opportunity to use the shop and equipment just make sure that you always do so with safety, respect, and proper planning. No one may drive to school or on school property even to move cars around the shop without a driver’s license and car insurance.
Tobacco Use:
· This campus is totally tobacco free and no form of it is allowed on these premises. This includes outside the building and in your car while here.
Cell Phones and School Phones:
· School policy here at the MCTC is very liberal and ever changing. You will be allowed to use phones during break, in the classroom as the teacher dictates, and in the shop for recording images of shop projects. However, at no time are you allowed to have your phone out during class or in the shop unless previously approved by the instructor. If you do have your phone out or it goes off in class it will be taken up and given to the office. You will not be allowed to charge your cell phone in the classroom or shop so please do not ask!
Internet Use:
· You must have an Internet permission slip signed by your parent or guardian before you may use the internet at this facility. There are many times when you will need to use the internet so be sure that you get you form turned in and that you observe all governing rules from the school while on any computer here. We do not use classroom internet time to do anything other than classroom work! You must also charge your computer nightly, we do not charge personal computers in class.
Clothing:
· When in the shop you will be required to participate. Wearing nice clothes to school is no excuse
to be excluded from shop activities and projects.
· You need to bring an appropriate change on clothes on shop days or wear appropriate clothes
that day.
· Open toed shoes are not allowed in the shop and if you cannot participate in shop work then you
will receive a zero for that day.
· Do not wear any clothes that the school would normally not approve of in the shop based on
content, wording, advertising, etc. on the clothing.
· Keep all pants pulled to an appropriate level and do not wear overly loose clothing. Jewelry is
not allowed in any form in the shop due to its varied safety concerns.
· Hats may only be worn in the shop
· We observe all OSHA standards set forth for proper shop attire.
Lifts and other equipment:
· We have four different lifts for cars in our shop.
· You must be able to understand and operate each one completely before you can use them.
· You must know and observe all safety concerns for each one as well.
· Two of them have car jacks built in and you must know how to operate them as well.
· Each time a lift is used it must be resting on its safety locks before anyone ever gets under one.
· Each time that a lift is let down the operator must say in a loud voice,( Coming Down) so that
everyone near it is out of the way.
· You may at times drive a car onto the lift or guide someone else onto a lift. No one may pull
onto or off of any lift without the instructor’s knowledge and permission.
· Working underneath two tons of weight is a serious situation that must be taken with the upmost
seriousness and planning. Any violation of safety on or around these lifts will be taken very
seriously.
A. Conclusion and Overview:
· You are a part of a unique class that can afford you the ability to create the beginning of a lifetime career in a challenging and rewarding field. You will be able to use very professional tools and equipment once you qualify. The sky is the limit as to what you can take away from this class. Of course the end result is as much up to you as it is up to me. What you will get back is what you put into it in the form of hard work, dedication, and maturity. I do not hold all the answers but what I do have is many ways to find them out. What we do in here is hard and complex and no one who is successful did so without putting forth a great effort. You will have to read very complex information, schematics, and technical manuals. You will have to be very analytical in your approach to diagnostics of the many systems in today’s cars. It is my hope that together we can enjoy a successful year as we work together in both the classroom and shop. Good luck in your endeavors this year.
Madison County Schools and Madison Career and Technical Center do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or handicapping condition.
