Key points

A rapid release of energy in solar flares is an observational fact for the Sun and also for other, mostly Sun-like stars.
This release must be caused by a rapid (explosive) dissipation, not by any of the non-explosive phenomena (advection, Joule heating, quietscent dissipation). For the latter the time scales are simply way too large.
Explosive dissipation (a.k.a. magnetic reconnection) takes place in the antiparallel configuration of the magnetic field. Two 2-D models appeared 50 years ago: Sweet-Parker, which can easily be explained, but is insufficient, and Petschek, which is a modification of S-P model and is sufficient.
CSHKP model is the standard model of the solar flare. It explains all the observable properties. It has issues. Modifications solve some of these issues.
Flares are classified. A SXR classification should be known (pasively) by everyone. "What is an X-class flares?" is the question which appears time to time from the people from public. You should be able to roughly explain that.