Lebanon High School students learn about car repair, maintenance

In a room at the back of Lebanon High School around 25 students work changing oil in a Toyota and looking at the brakes on an Audi SUV. The students aren’t killing time between classes. They are in the class: an automotive repair and maintenance class.

Led by mechanic and 14-year teacher Allen Davis, the classes allow students to immerse themselves in knowledge of auto repair and maintenance. This semester Allen has approximately 70 students in his classes.

The walls in the room are lined with toolboxes and machines for car repair. The two bay doors stand behind two lifts to raise the vehicles for easier work. The students work on cars owned by both faculty members and students, Davis said.

Davis said he starts the first level of classes giving students the basics such reading the size of a tire to changing oil in a car.

The students do not remove and replace engines. They can, however, become Automotive Service Excellence certified if they take the Level III classes. That comes with a certificate and a shoulder patch and “looks good on a resume,” he said.

“This will be great whether they decide to do this on their own or go into (the automotive) business,” Davis said. Several of his students have gone to an automotive trade school such as TCAT, but three of them went directly from high school to working at Bates Ford in Lebanon.

Last semester there were seven female students. This semester he has four.

“It’s good,” he said. “I wish the numbers would grow.”

Senior Clayton Davis (no relation to the teacher) said this is the second semester he has taken the classes. He’s worked on his family and neighbor’s cars.

“I liked it last semester and I thought I’d do it again,” he said, noting car repair isn’t something he plans to do as a career, but said it’s good to know the things he’s learned in the classes. “I actually thought of going to a trade school for it, but I’ve chosen another (career path).”

He is currently learning about “steering, brakes and suspension,” and said the first semester he learned the basics, such as changing oil and putting air in the tires.

“I like getting my hands dirty,” Clayton said. “Having to use my muscles a little bit. It’s more hands-on. My dad has taught me some things about general maintenance, but this has taught me more stuff.”

He added that knowing the information is also economical.

“People generally don’t know, and they pay someone to do it for them,” he said. “But it you know how to do it you just go buy the materials and do it yourself instead of having to pay for the labor.”

He said Davis is “is great. He’s such a good teacher. If you make a mistake, he doesn’t criticize you for four days. He’ll tell you what you did wrong and how to fix it.”

One of Davis’ students who is now working at Bates Ford is 2023 graduate Dylan Massey who took four years of the auto classes.

“I always loved cars and worked on them at home and was intrigued by how cars were built and designed so when I got to LHS I knew I wanted to take automotive class to further my education and knowledge about vehicles,” he said.

He said her learned a lot about cars, but “Mr. Davis taught me how to rack a vehicle properly with a lift and how to use a tire mount and balance machine, how to properly do an alignment on a vehicle and how to do everything in a safe way because you can get hurt badly if you’re not careful.  

“The automotive industry is a good career path to go through. The automotive industry will always have jobs and we as a country have a lack of automotive technicians. We need lots more people who can work on vehicles so now is a good time to learn.”