Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2868
member profile Alvin “Corky” Schroeder is a hands-on kind of guy. If he’s giving a lesson in his automotive class about electrical currents, he’s likely to be juggling a car alternator in one hand and a snakelike wir- ing harness in the other. “When I’m talking about something, my stu- dents either have something in their hands or I have something in my hands to get their atten- tion,” says the Merced County Office Teachers Association member, whose vocational auto program serves 11 high schools in Merced County. Schroeder, 59, had problems as a young student with a learning disability. “I always wondered why I had more difficulty than the other students. I struggled and struggled.” Growing up in a time before attention deficit disorder and dyslexia were diagnosed, Schroeder found it challenging to deal with words swimming in his head and a short attention span. “It wasn’t until I got in- volved in voca- tional programs in high school that I discovered if I found some- thing interesting, it held my atten- tion and made sense.” If Schroeder has a gift, it’s to identify and help kids with learning issues and make curriculum interesting for them. “A lot of my kids have trou- ble with math, so with fractions we read a tape measure. They can see that if they measured wrong, the angle or part is off.” Forever thinking up ways to engage stu- dents, he keeps the class relevant by schedul- ing field trips to the auto wrecking yard (or dumpster diving for things like lawn mowers), where students can get their hands dirty and see how engine parts work. “I see a lot of kids who have the same types of problems that I did, so I try to figure out how they learn best. Whether they’re auditory or kinesthetic, I fig- ure out what triggers the learning process.” When an opportunity arose last year for 38 California Educator | november 2008 Schroeder to help develop a student racecar series in Mer- ced, he jumped at the chance. Most of his students weren’t even licensed drivers and had zero experience with cars. But soon after finding an old ja- lopy that had been abandoned in a nearby lot, Schroeder had a racecar for his students to re- build and an all-girl racing team to drive it. A student in his class — Rosie Molina, 17, the racing team driver — is all smiles talking about her auto shop teacher. “Mr. Schroeder doesn’t just lecture and make you learn out of the book, because everything out of the book is so perfect, you know? He has you go out there and do the work. You can do lessons and reviews, but when you’re out there working on the car, the whole ball game changes.” Schroeder received loads of support from the Merced community. One compa- ny donated all the paint for the body, a glass shop offered windshield removal demonstrations, and a plumber donated fire suits and helmets. Merced County Office Teachers Associa- tion member Alvin “Corky” Schroeder in his autoshop class. Inset: Student and racing team driver Rosie Molina. “These kids owned this car,” says Schroeder. “Some of them had never fin- ished a project in their lives. You could tell from time to time when things got tough they’d want to quit and I wouldn’t let them. I’d say, ‘Forget about your problems right now, we’ve got a project to finish.’” A student walks up and asks Schroeder a question about a water pump, and he excuses himself for a moment. You can see how he deals with his students as his equals, speaking to them as adults. “You know, these kids are going to be taxpayers someday,” he says as the student walks away. “If we can give them the tools to become self-sufficient, they will add to so- ciety. We weren’t just building racecars — we were building students’ esteem for suc- cess. And it worked!” Dave earl Carpenter Photos by Scott Buschman