Everyone drives. Driving is essential for transportation. Driving is essential for living in LA. But when do you have time to learn how to drive? When are you going to set aside your studies and focus on operating a whole different entity aside from yourself?
Driver’s education is the first step in learning how to drive. But why is such an essential set of skills not learned in schools? Driver’s ed should be taught in school so it allows students to equally improve their academic and their life skills. Years ago, most districts canceled driver’s ed classes as a victim of budget cuts or because of an increased emphasis on college admission requirements. The behind-the-wheel portion was eliminated mostly because of liability reasons. A few might still offer online classes.
Poly used to offer driver’s ed as a class, however The Varsity Driving Academy (VDA) of Long Beach Poly officially closed its physical location and transferred to Irvine, California. Now they only offer online courses. How are we supposed to learn to drive if Poly’s driving academy moved to Irvine? Drive to Irvine? I don’t think so. For students of Polytechnic High School, the VDA does in fact offer free pick-up and drop-off for behind-the-wheel training sessions with direct pick up from school, study groups, practices, you name it. This has allowed some students to complete their driver’s ed, but it has been limited to students with online access. What about the ones without? Or students who learn better in person?
In some schools, driver’s education is required to be offered, but the local school district governing board may, according to the California Education Code (EC) Section 51225.3, determine if it is a required course for graduation. A driver’s education elective course may be applied toward meeting minimum graduation credits without requiring driver’s education for graduation.
For living in the state of California, where driving is a vital skill, driver’s ed should not only be offered at Poly, but should be emphasized. Many students complain that school does not teach effective life skills. Well, here you go— an everyday skill every student should have access to.
Poly hasn’t had driver’s ed in the curriculum for some ten years due to budget cuts. Adding in driver’s ed as an elective to Poly’s curriculum will only ensure a safer highway for everyone. The state law suggests that driver’s education as a course should be offered in grades nine to twelve, seeing that this is the range for students’ licensing age. Many districts are offering driver’s education instruction along with health education, since some course topics, such as alcohol, drugs, and driver fatigue, are discussed in both courses. Understanding this interrelationship is important since the leading health and safety issue among teens is associated with traffic collisions; the number one killer of teens in the state.
Any opportunity we have to educate students about the responsibilities of driving, we should take. Hands-on experience will only benefit your skills in the long run.