This year, Parks Junior High has introduced a new class, Advisory, which takes place every Wednesday. During this class, students are to participate in Second Step, a series of lessons that teach problem-solving techniques and social skills. However, this period has become extremely controversial to students. Although some students seem to like it, numerous feel that Advisory is “a waste of time.” We feel that Advisory is pointless and could be replaced with countless other things.
Many students also feel the same about this class and some teachers also do not agree with the idea of Advisory. First off, Advisory takes up some time for learning subjects like mathematics, language arts, and others. One student states, “I find Advisory to be absolute nonsense and a complete waste of time. Listening to Second Step Lessons is never going to be an effective way to help students through middle school. Honestly, these lessons are not teachings but rather a given set of instructions that should already be known.” Another student says, “I believe that Advisory is executed horribly. The concept was a good thought, but the way it was put into action was bad. Listening to Second Step lessons is not likely to help students. These are lessons that have already been covered, and it feels repetitive and boring. No student wants to listen to Second Step lessons for an entire period. It can be very tiring, and not effective at all. This is not an insult to Advisory teachers, but the lessons.” It seems that the majority of students at Parks also share the same thoughts.
We also find that the lessons they teach in Advisory aren’t helpful. While it could serve some purpose, most students won’t look back to the lessons for help. Additionally, they are all skills that we already learned, and won’t use regularly. These lessons are not only pointless but boring. If the lessons were more interesting and fun, we wouldn’t have this problem. Boredom plays a big part in the hate for Advisory, and changing it up once in a while would lessen the problem for this class. The website, ed.gov, states “Interest in learning influences learning motivation, and this also applies to disciplines that have a strong influence on student motivation.” This is one of countless studies that show that more students have a better understanding of what they are learning when they are engaged and interested.
The tactics that students learn are also outdated. Bullying is a large problem, however, these methods to subdue bullying seem old-fashioned. Other lessons are about making friends or helping with emotions during middle school. All of the above are important topics to learn, but we feel it does not need an entire period to gain understanding. Adding on, students may have also learned Second Step lessons in sixth grade, so these repeated lessons only serve as a hindrance and a disruption to their other classes.
With all of this being said, what can be done about this designated time during the week? One idea is that Advisory could be replaced with a study hall where students can work on their homework or use PBIS points to meet with friends to collaborate on projects. Another alternative is to use Advisory as a club meeting day, so teachers don’t have to spend their lunchtime supervising clubs. This will always solve the problem of clubs only being available during one of the lunch times. Finally, the time can be used for Health, a mandatory elective all seventh graders go through. This would be better so everyone can have two electives during their seventh-grade year. For the eighth graders who have already done Health, they can use the time for study hall or homework help.
Advisory is a new class and everyone is still figuring out how to execute it successfully. However, now that we head into the second semester, we home that some changes can be made and that Advisory will change for the better.
