It is no secret that most adults today are considerably less handy than previous generations. The root cause of this helplessness is the lack of high school level shop classes. The removal of hands-on classes such as auto mechanics and woodshop has prevented many students from learning about subjects they are interested in. 

Cars are getting more complicated every day with new electronics and advanced technology. This puts the average person at a disadvantage when it comes to repairing their car by themselves and often results in overpriced fixes at the dealership. Even simple maintenance like an oil change can seem like a mystery and repair shops are more than willing to charge exorbitant rates.

Shop classes can prevent expensive repair costs and instill a DIY spirit in students that is currently lacking in most young people. While certain classes like woodshop may be obsolete for most students, hands-on and technical classes are still important for students to experience.

The obvious answer is to simply tell students to attend East Valley Institute of Technology programs because the school provides a variety of career-oriented classes for juniors and seniors. The major problem with this is that EVIT is simply not accessible enough to most students. The campus is relatively far and forces students to take a modified schedule at their high school. This makes it difficult for students to explore their interests without a massive commitment to half days and a long commute. 

Having an auto shop on campus would allow students to explore their passions and learn about a subject the actually interests them. If the band kids, football players, and photographers are allowed the opportunity to participate in classes that interest them it’s unfair to deny car kids that opportunity. The program would require purpose-built facilities but so does swim and football. Auto shop is a valuable course worth spending the money on, and could also help service the district’s vehicles.

Currently, the only school in the district that has an auto shop is Chandler high, which only has the class because the school is much older than other schools in the district. Students taking auto shop learn about the inner workings and mechanics of automobiles. For something most people use every day, the average person has fairly low knowledge of cars.

These machines are complex, but also important for most people who have to get anywhere at all. The less educated people are about cars the more likely they are to get scammed or overcharged. 

Students are being denied the opportunity to find a potential career simply because auto shop courses were deemed obsolete prematurely. Cars are going to be around for a long time, might as well let students learn about them.