Layla Mohran, class of 2026
Advisory is a waste of time. Is it to make more friends? People already know what works best for them. It shouldn’t be forced. From what I’ve seen of high school so far, everyone has their own group. Sorting into grades isn’t a good idea because I already have other classes with freshmen.
It would be nice to get to know people from other grades that I don’t already know. At my middle school, there was a small Advisory session, where students could do their work. After, there would be two blocks of Learn where students could switch classes for each block. This way, we got more work done.
In both Advisory classes I’ve been in, nobody has participated. The teacher stood and talked at us. Instead of Advisory, it should be used as an extra Learn slot. Plus, it’s on a Wednesday. That’s the middle of the week with the peak amount of homework. Most freshmen aren’t fully used to the new amount of homework, so an extra Learn slot would help us catch up with our work and build better habits.
I‘m not sure why Advisory is county-mandated. Haven’t they seen the negative feedback from it? When I leave an Advisory session, I don’t think twice about it.
Rebecca Paz, class of 2025
The random classrooms, forced friendships, scripted interactions and controversial lessons made last year’s Advisory an uphill battle for students.
When comparing my Advisory classes from last year and this year, I see very few differences other than the people with whom I’m having to endure it. Having Advisory classes organized by grade level makes our discussions much more relevant, but that does not make it a better use of my time.
I have not yet seen a difference in participation level compared to last year. When questions are asked, people tend to keep their heads down and wait for another person to give an answer, which rarely happens.
Students should be given the choice to participate in lessons, or use their time in a way that they feel is more valuable. It’s extremely difficult to watch 35 minutes pass by without being able to be productive. For this reason, Advisory has tremendously added to my stress and anxiety, which it intended to relieve.
The good intentions of Advisory are clear. And while the changes from last year have improved it somewhat, they have not fixed it. Personally, I want my 35 minutes back.
Mona Farah, class of 2024
Last year, instead of getting work done, students from all grade levels were forced to participate in useless activities during Advisory. Administration saw this as a way to improve communication between students. However, nobody wants to know anybody in their Advisory; they just want to leave. This proves Advisory is a waste of time that is better spent getting work done. For example, if a student has a test coming up next period, instead of being able to review, they would waste time playing cup pong.
This year, Advisory definitely improved. It’s only once a week and shorter. We’re also put together with our same grade level, strengthening interactions between students. However, the same redundant activities remain. Even with new adjustments, Advisory still takes time away from schoolwork. Also, with many juniors pursuing the IB Diploma, it’s crucial they get the opportunity to meet with teachers. Some might not have time to do this after school, so fourth period would be most convenient. Advisory removes that opportunity, replacing it with another unnecessary, time-wasting activity.
Mile Feliciano, class of 2023
Advisory last year was a county-mandated disaster. Students were thrown into loosely organized rooms and forced to undergo group activities under the guise of encouraging bonding and improving the school community.
I think this certainly wasn’t successful, likely due to the mixed grades limiting students’ ability to bond with one another due to a lack of common ground. Additionally, it seemed there was little opportunity for organic bonds to form between the students as the mandated activities would eat up most of the time.
But this year is supposed to be different; the administration is saying that they took feedback from the student body and have worked to change Advisory for the better. But what’s really changed? Sure, we’ve gotten to the point where students are now placed with their peers, but the dropoff in mandated activities hasn’t seemed to last. However, at this point it’s not really clear to me why the county thinks Advisory should even exist. Advisory still costs students time that could be spent learning or building community through the school via activities that the students would actively choose to seek out.