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6 T HINGS TO KNOW ABOUT Robert Yost Wayne Hills’ veteran tech teacher leadshis robotics team to new heights
Robert Yost, 59, found his passion in a classroom. For the last 16 years, he has taught applied technology with a specialty in robotics at Wayne Hills High School. He has led his students to place 48th out of more than 1,000 teams inthe 2018 First Robotics Championship in Detroit. He shares coaching duties with Dax Patel, avolunteer.
1HE GREW UP IN A“ MAKE WITH YOUR HANDS” ENVIRONMENT. Yost says that his maternal grandfather worked asamason and often built houses and made art. This trait was passed down to his mother, who raised him to value creativity. She often assisted her children in art projects when they were younger, and construction projects when they were older. Yost installed bathrooms in his brother’ s house last summer, and his mother worked alongside him.
“ Kinda annoying, but nice that an 86-year-old woman had the eye for style and design, and could hand me tiles to speed up the project,” he says.“ The bathroom projects took two months to complete, and mom was there till the end.”
2YOST OFTENSKETCHES, A SKILL HE USES IN CLASS.“ I think in pictures,” Yost says.“ Drawing is auniversal language. No matter where you work, what country you go to, people understand pictures.”
WRITTENBYRAFAELA TEIXEIRA
3YOST LIKES TOREFLECT IN A NOTEBOOK.“ I look at every class and Ireflect onwhat went on, what Icould do better, what I need for tomorrow,” he says. While teaching, he likes to keep aconsistent attitude towards his students— friendly and approachable— prompting him to record his efforts and prepare for the following day.
4HE OFTEN FEELS HE HAS TO ENTERTAIN TO PULL STU- DENTSAWAYFROMTHEIR SMARTPHONES.“ When the iPhone came out, the teenagers changed with it,” Yost says.“ Everyone is glued to their phones, and it’ smore important than the things that should be important.” Asateacher of more than 125 students, heunderstands how hard it is to get their attention as advanced technology makes it more shortterm.“ How do you compete with that? You almost have tojoin in and become anactor and dance on your feet. That’ s what we do,” he says.
Yost { far right } with the high-scoring Wayne Hills robotic team.
5HE CREDITS THE DRIVE OF THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS WITH THE TEAM’ SSUCESS.
“ Teamwork, trust, vision and selfdetermination were all elements that our students developed on the journey to be good enough to make it to the Worlds,” says Yost. He and Patel acted as facilitators to assist the students when they needed reassurance or another opinion.“ Without the dedication and sacrifice of the students, we would be nowhere. It’ s really not about us,” he says.“ The students could have said they wanted to quit, and we would have had to respect that.”
6YOST WASTHE BESTMAN IN AFORMER STUDENT’ S WED- DING. He realized that his former student had agrowing talent in the field, and encouraged him to keep his options open when thinking about college. Yost helped develop his student’ s skill set and became arole model until he successfully entered the workforce as amechani- cal engineer and“ met anice girl” he decided to marry. Yost says he had agreat time at the wedding.“ That’ s what’ ssonice about this job,” he says. When they come back it’ s like having your own family— another family of kids.” ■
YOST: COURTESY OF ROBERT YOST; TEAM: COURTESY OFDAX PATEL
10 BACK TOSCHOOL 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE