Let me first say that I am a histotech with nearly 30 years in the field.
I "stumbled" into histology in high school and went on to college in the
medtech program. After two years, I realized I liked histology a lot more
than where the medtech program would take me. The "hands-on" processing of
tissue samples and related special stains drew me in. I got a job in a
community hospital and have chosen to stay.
    If I had had a histology program available to me then I probably would
have utilized it. I still wonder if it would have made any difference. In the
last six years I have had several  employees, fresh out of school, who knew
not much more about  the technical aspects of tissue processing as the few
I've had who came in not  knowing anything about histology.
    I don't think adding histology back into the medtech program will help,
except to make more students aware of a vital and exciting aspect of patient
care and it's connection to the results they see from the ordered testing.
    Histology has become a science unto itself and we should recruit people
who are interested in the diagnosis/care of our patients,  whether they are
school-trained or OJT.