AIBU to think they NEED to teach car maintenance at school?

[MeMyCatsAndMyBooks]

Today my car tyre popped on a piece of metal left in the middle of the road, and I had no idea what to do.
I've been driving since I was 17 and I'm in my 30s and never had an accident touch wood or anything wrong with my tyres.
I instantly panicked as it happened in the middle of a giant hill and knew I couldn't do it there, thankfully a really kind man ran out and helped it be pushed to the side & changed my tyre for me.

I had no idea how to do it, or what a space saver tyre really was! Luckily I got it home driving very slowly & onto my drive and have my breakdown cover coming out next week to change the tyre.
But I just had no idea about any of it. Im aware I sound like a helpless woman, but im usually quite independent but this knocked me for six!

AIBU to think they need to teach car maintenance in school rather than pushing maths (which lets face it isn't anywhere as important) onto students till they turn 18?

My school offered a Motor Vehicle and Road User Studies class for GCSE, which probably would have covered that. No one picked it though. I wanted to but it clashed with History.

I agree with you though OP. Schools teach a lot of crap. The curriculum needs a complete overhaul as they waste a lot of time on unnecessary stuff.

As well as teaching them how to be sanctimonious and divert the discussion on any topic to their own, petty agenda.

My dad showed me the basics of car maintenance when I passed my test - checking oil, topping up screen wash, checking tyre pressures and changing a wheel etc.

When I got a puncture outside my friend's house one day I started to get my jack and spare wheel out. Her dad was horrified that I was going to change the wheel myself and insisted on doing it for me. I didn't need him to as I knew what to do but I don't think he could get his head round a 20 year old female knowing how to change a wheel. I felt very patronised.

This is how people know about it (or did at least prior to the Internet)

haynes.com/en-gb/car-manuals/car-makes

You are very mistaken if you think everybody has somebody to teach them.

@Sugarplumfairy65 unfortunately I disagree. I think school could (should) be so much more than what it is.
Education is not just about the academic side - especially because not all children are academic.
My daughter suffered with Anxiety Based School Refusal from as young as Year 2. Later diagnosised with autism. Probably has ADHD too but it's never been diagnosed.
She is now at an alternative/Sen school.
They can do GCSE's but usually just 2 or 3 and not until Key Stage 5.
The school is amazing. The best thing to happen to her.
She simply cannot cope (or be interested) in an academic exam based education.
1000s of children are like this. Many stuck in mainstream - frustrated, bored, angry, feeling like failures.
Most secondary schools in England are supposed to be comprehensive schools - suitable for all different abilities.
Except they are not. The curriculum and exam system is only suitable for academic children.
Schools should be doing learning and experiences that have nothing to do with getting an exam grade at the end. They should be about the effort, the knowledge, the interest, the pride at the end when you look back at what you have achieved - not whether you get a grade 8 or 9 out of it.
I did a non GCSE subject back in my day (early 90s). It was called Parentcraft but was really Child Development. We got a certificate at the end and some of the projects I did for the subject ( making a toy and writing a picture book) I still have those projects. I still have the doll and the book that I worked so hard on and am so proud of.
I am much more proud of those than my grade D in French.
I am so glad my daughter is out of mainstream now.
That system was cruel for her.

@NeedMoreLego You need to get in touch with the Government and get the curriculum changed. They only value academic subjects that can be tested and used as a stick to beat schools with. The emphasis on maths and English, particularly in primary, means there is barely room to scratch the surface of other subjects. I've said this for many years... and I'm a teacher.
They also don't really care about children who struggle in academia. The support for these children has been pretty much stripped out of schools over the last decade and it's awful.
The government don't care about state schools. They just don't.

When I was 19, I rebuilt the engine on my motorbike using just the Haynes manual. No internet, and no one showing me. I only bothered the garage to get parts.

@CocoKenny god I wish I knew where to start with doing that. I hope so much the system will change for the next generation.

I think it would much better to have academic and non academic schools. I'm personally academic so would dislike practical subjects pushing out academia. It can already be hard at the moment to do 3 sciences of 3 languages.

The problem with this is all parents think their kids are academically clever. Though that's easily solved by entrance exams.

@kitsuneghost “The problem with this is all parents think their kids are academically clever. Though that's easily solved by entrance exams.”

Not my experience at all. I’m surrounded by other parents who talk about their children’s struggles.

I don't agree to be honest. All children learn at different rates so exams only show a snapshot. Some make huge progress in short periods. Also, some children get exam anxiety and don't perform well.
Most parents are pretty realistic about their children but understandably want them to reach their potential. It's my job to make that happen and work with them to achieve it.
Also, avoiding academia is a mistake as you need a level of it as a life skills. Some level of maths and English is important and you'll use it every day. It would just be better if the cure was more balanced and children weren't assessed to death (and supported more if they have a special need)
Education, just like the NHS, needs proper investment.

Curriculum, not cure (sorry, autocorrect!)

@kitsuneghost I actually really like the concept of the UTC (University Technology Colleges) for 14+ because they specialise in one specific type of education. Children only go to these schools because they WANT to study that area of education. They aren't stuck doing subjects they have zero interest in.
I believe most UTCs focus on stem subjects. It would be fantastic to have more arts or humanities focused ones.
UTCs don't seem very popular though. Maybe there isn't enough of them and that can mean children do have to commute quite far to get to one.

I know how to change a tyre, check and top up oil, jump start a car, fill up my wipers and change wiper blades. My dad could have taught but was more interested in screaming at me for daring to exist or drinking. When I first learned to drive at 18 I wandered down the road to the three lads who bought cheap motors and fixed them up to sell. I got free lessons in basic maintenance.

The first time I got a flat I jumped out got the jack out etc tried to undo the bolts….nope even using my legs to give me more power (shown by the guys when tightening, always use your leg rather than your arms for the final push). They were stuck so I had to call the RAC.

Just call a mobile tyre fitter or trundle your way to the nearest garage.
Arsing about with a dinky jack and a small wheel brace.

Alternatively you can sit in your car for 2 hrs waiting for a man, or you can do it yourself and be back on the road in 15 mins...

I have a 30mile rural commute to work. Phone signal is patchy and the lanes are full of car-eating potholes. I've changed 4 in the last 3.5 years. The first I discovered I didn't have a spare so my car sat in a village pub carpark for a week until I could buy one. I'd feel very vulnerable if I couldn't get myself home.

YABU to not think maths is important. I thought this too when I was about 16, then as I got older wished I had paid more attention in school. Maths is everywhere and gives you such an advantage even if you are mediocre at it

Home is a much larger part of a child's life than school and should be a child's main Community. Schools are not there to plug the more and more gaps left by lazy parents who can't be bothered.

@JudgeJ ok it's a part of their community.
But I don't think parents of non academic children should be called "lazy".
We probably have to put in more effort to help our children because the current education system sure doesn't.

I think anyone who works in a school will be able to tell us that it's not exam exam exam anymore.
Teachers are now deemed responsible for so many more things than parents are nowadays otherwise they're at risk of being labelled as failing their students, a label which only the very worst parents are given.
There's so much more going on in schools post pandemic trying to make up for the failings of other services during lockdown.

Perhaps as part of the driving lessons? I did an advanced driving course through work that had changing a tyre in it. Though my dad had already instructed me!

YABU Many new cars don't even carry a spare tyre. I had a burst last summer and the long wait for the AA made me ponder whether I should attempt to change the tyre myself. But as I don't think I have the physical strength, I would have probably done more harm than good. Then having seen all the kit that the AA had, compared to my very basic jack, I was confirmed that I made the right decision.

Also, not everyone learns to drive when they are young as in not long out of school, and then may not have any specific problem for years after that. That's why we have breakdown services and garages and people taking lengthy apprenticeships to learn how to fix cars. There may be car maintenance classes in your area if you are interested in learning the basics.

Places you can learn this:

• from your parents
• from books eg haynes
• from YouTube/google
• take a car maintenance course
• ask a friend or neighbour for a few pointers

School is for academic education & skills, its not a proxy for everything you can get from parents & community or can self teach

Bicycle maintenance more important for some

Why should schools have one more thing to teach? Take responsibility and educate yourself as an adult via a video or whatever. We have enough to do. Why is it always someone else's fault? Take responsibility.