I used to hate long division. I was one of those kids that always asked, “If we have calculators, why do we learn this?” I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, but my math teacher still forced us to solve row upon row of long division problems. Ten years later, I can admit that calculators are a crutch. What many others and I are not ready to admit is that computers are a crutch, too.

Because a large portion of our lives is centered around computers, I completely agree with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s support for requiring a computer science class to graduate high school. Computers let us play games, video stream and communicate with others around the world. However, the majority of high school students have no idea how that process functions behind the scenes. I just press a button, and it works. Magic, right?

Ignorance about computers is more than just relying on a crutch; it’s also costing high-paying jobs. The money needed to provide computers to students will be paid back in their increased salaries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2012, the computer systems design sector is projected to have one of the highest rates of growth in both salary and employment from 2010-2020. This means that in the long-term, Chicagoans will make more money and contribute more in taxes back to the state.

Even in the short-term, taking a computer science class is highly beneficial. In fact, I would recommend every student at LT to take advantage of the coding classes LT offers, whether mandatory or not.

Last year, I randomly decided to sign up for a computer science class. I had no experience with programming and absolutely no idea what we would be doing in the class. It turned out that computer science was directly applicable to other academic areas. Although you have to learn the particular syntax used in the Java Programming Language, you really focus on learning how to think logically.

Computers can only understand simple commands, so computer science forces students to break up problems into smaller pieces in order to solve them. Approaching a situation in that way allows you to accomplish a wide range of tasks—whether that’s programming “Flappy Bird” or the massive search engine “Google.”

Students should definitely be required to take a computer science course before they graduate because it challenges them and helps them succeed in the long-term. You might hate computer science as much as I used to hate long division, but that doesn’t mean it’s not necessary.