It wouldn't have helped with small engine repair, but I've been trying to reform the general science curriculum into a 'how things work' form to include everything from what holds buildings up, what stuff is made out of (concrete, aluminum, plastic, steel) how an engine works, how we get water and electric power, why sewers allow us to live in cities without dying of cholera, how farms work, and all the rest of the man-made stuff that keeps us alive. Nobody understands what I'm trying to do--they think it's either a shop class or an auto repair class because teachers typically have never wondered how a radio or a telephone works. At least I tried.
Mark Kinsler