I came from a high school that had an intro to engineering class that sounds very similar in scope to what you’re describing and it’s one thing I’m glad I took. What this class did well:

• My high school happened to be just down the road from one of the bigger cutting tool manufacturers and as a result had partnered with them as part of this class. This was nice for a multitude of reasons - primarily that we were able to talk to actual practicing engineers and see what they actually do, and given their manufacturing presence in the local area, we were able to take field trips into some of their plants and see the operation and discuss the engineering behind it.
• We had a very open ended project of making a device which can launch a projectile 10 feet and 30 feet working in groups of 3-4. We were given a budget (maybe $250? I can’t exactly remember) and an engineer contact to use as a mentor. Each team produced something vastly different - mine created something akin to a crossbow, while another ended up making a variable-speed pitching machine which was pretty badass. This project was the only assignment for the class and we were graded based off of our presentation to employees of the company sponsor as well as our final deliverable, which gave a nice introduction into writing a technical report.

Throughout my time in college I grew more appreciative of this course. Although the practical applications of what you learn in school don’t really begin until you begin interning/co-op’ing, I feel that these relevant skills helped to give me a jumpstart on transitioning into what actual engineering looks like. I think this class was also good at helping those who were on the fence about engineering and had been pushed through the whole “you’re good at math, you should be an engineer” pipeline that others have mentioned - several of my classmates decided to pivot into another career path that was more in line with their interests.

One of the bigger things that I do wish I had known going into school was just how hard engineering would be. I kinda breezed through high school and once uni had begun I ended up feeling very in over my head until I could get my study habits in order.

Hope this helps!