Automotive Technology is a career and technical education (CTE) centered program that is offered by the school, giving students the opportunity to learn about cars, so that they can be prepared and/or get a job.

Shane Robertson is one of the three Automotive Technology teachers in the school along with Pete Galanti and Ernest King.

  In Automotive Technology, students are taught their way around a car. In Auto 1, the students learn primarily about the suspensions and brakes. In Auto 2, the students learn about heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)  and the vehicle’s electrical components. In Auto 3, the students learn more about how the engine performs.

As an Automotive Technology teacher, Robertson helps his students understand how a car works. 

  “I wanted to extend back to my roots after taking Auto Tech in high school,” Robertson said. “I learned a lot and thought it would be good if I taught others what Mr. Watkins taught me.”

  Robertson graduated in 2010 and decided to start working on cars to have a better chance at getting a job.

  “Because of the recession, people were begging for jobs at places like Kings Dominion and because there were so many people, there were limited jobs,” Robertson said, “That meant that you’d have to find something that is different from others, like studying cars.”

  Since fall of 2018, Robertson has taught both Auto 1 and 2. Auto tech is important because people drive cars everyday and need to know how to work on/with their car. Knowing how the vehicle works is beneficial in the case of emergencies, breakdowns, or accidents, like flat tires.

  “We talk about real life a lot in auto tech because it’s important to know how it is outside the classroom,” Robertson said. “Everybody at some point is going to be in something that is moving faster than their body could, whether that’s a car, a metro, or a bus.”

  After teaching at the high school, Robertson thought about teaching at a college for a higher pay, but decided against it because he felt high schoolers would benefit more from the class than college students would.

  “I could’ve made more money because why not make $250,000 per person when they don’t fully understand how loans work yet,” Robertson said. “I think highschool students need to learn more about automotives because they’re just getting cars.”

  Teaching his students in a way that can relate back to real life is an aspect of Robertson’s class.

  “If I don’t try to prepare them for what real life is going to be like then they’re going to get there and struggle,” Robertson said. “That pushes me to talk a lot about college so they can make a plan of what they want to do.”

  Sophomore Cailyn Worrell is in her second year of Auto Tech and is a part of Robertson’s third period class.

  “Mr. Robertson is a great teacher who explains what we’re doing thoroughly, but he also lets us work on our own to get experience and figure some things out,” Worrell said.

  Junior Troy Cornett is working through Robertson’s fourth period Auto 2 class for his second year of Automotive Technology.

  “Mr. Robertson helps students who have trouble understanding how to do stuff,” Cornett said. “He also understands that stuff happens if something goes wrong.”

  Pete Galanti teaches Automotive Technology and welding.

During his second block planning period and his lunch, Galanti observes how Robertson teaches and how his class is learning.

  “Mr. Robertson is a great teacher and he does very well with the students and very well with his class,” Galanti said. “He’s very knowledgeable, so he works with the students hands on and in the classroom.”