Most high school students are well-acquainted with stress. As graduation and college applications loom frighteningly near, the last thing any high schooler wants is another source of worry. The CHS Technology Education (Tech Ed) requirement is just that. Currently, students are required to either take the Tech Ed class (due to CUSD adopting this option from Assembly Bill 1330) or pass a test on the subject to graduate. If CHS seeks to create a better, less troubled school environment for students, this must change. Tech Ed must become an option rather than a stipulation.

Life as a high school student is a mix of classwork, homework, extracurricular activity, and more. These factors already make setting aside free time a struggle for high schoolers; further responsibilities and unnecessary requirements only worsen the situation. A perfect example of such needless responsibility is the Tech Ed requirement. Though additional knowledge of technology and its uses and functions is a great resource to have, it is not a crucial one for many students at CHS. In fact, the large majority of graduates do not move on to pursue tech specialized fields of work. As a result, being required to take or pass a test on this course is not a beneficial standard for most.

Basically, Tech Ed is a course in which students gain further knowledge regarding basic technology. The class may create the basis of knowledge needed by students who hope to pursue certain technological fields. There are no inherent issues with this course; in fact, it can be quite a helpful one. The only glaring problem with our current Tech Ed class is that passing it is a requirement for graduation. As of now, students either complete the course in middle school, likely leaving the subject untouched thereafter, take Tech Ed as an elective class, or cram material for a couple days and hope to pass the test on their own and this must change. Instead of being a mandatory requirement, the Tech Ed class should remain as one that is optional. That way, students truly interested in the subject have the resources they need to further their education on the topic. On the other hand, students who do not hold any interest in Tech Ed can continue on with their high school careers without this additional stress.

Completing the Tech Ed class should be a process undergone by students who choose to learn this subject; it should be a class taken by those passionate about what they study. As it is now, the course is boiled down to just a necessity, considered solely another check off the list of graduation requirements weighing CHS students down. CHS should revisit this requirement to see if it is possible, in accordance with the California Education Code, to make this course optional. That way, everyone can be happy.