Is Advisory Beneficial?

Students roam hallways chatting with friends and spreading the latest gossip, while others are stuck in classrooms staring at blank walls listening to teachers go on and on. Advisory should be a time when students catch up on homework and receive tutoring. However, the new setup of intervention and privilege are not fulfilling their intended purposes.

Intervention is assigned to students who are failing classes and students that are doing well in classes receive privilege. This seems like a good idea, yet students disagree with it. For example, Audrey Townend, junior, said “I got put into intervention and I’m not even failing, I don’t understand that”. If the whole point for having intervention is to motivate kids to keep their grades up and avoid failing, then why are students who are not failing being placed in this class? It’s not fair to the students who actually work hard and are passing to be placed in extra tutoring when they really do not need it. Instead of studying and conversing with their peers, students like Audrey are held in rooms with nothing to do. Furthermore, when Kaitlin Hargis received her schedule with new advisory arrangements she was shocked that she had been placed in intervention. She immediately began saying “What? That cannot be right, I am passing my classes and doing well in them.” After experiencing intervention for a day, she was bored out of her mind. “It doesn’t even help me because I’m not having trouble in that class, so I just sit there” said Kaitlin. Overall intervention is not turning out the way people thought it would. The main issue is that some students who do not need extra help are being placed in these classes and sit in class completely bored.

Boredom is also felt by the underclassmen; unlike the juniors and seniors they don’t have intervention or privilege. Advisory for the underclassmen requires them to go to an assigned room and remain there. “My advisory is dreary, I cannot wait for the bell to ring to get out of that class” said Lauren Mizell, sophomore. Advisory should be more than a class students just sit through.

On the other hand, teachers’ view on advisory is completely different from the view of their students. “It is extremely beneficial because students that need help receive it and privilege motivates students to pass their classes” said Mrs. Jenkins, teacher. Teachers believe that students are using this time efficiently. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Teachers think one thing and students are experiencing another. The issue of students not failing and still being put in intervention was addressed. “Each teacher has a specific reason as to why they choose someone to be in intervention. I choose students based on how well they are doing in class and if I believe they are struggling, then intervention is the solution” said Mr. Kelm, Spanish teacher.

The teachers see advisory as valuable; however, the students experience it in a completely different way. On Mondays and Fridays students feel as if they are trapped in their classrooms. The powerpoints and discussions go in one ear and out the other. On the days in between, upper classmen receive some freedom. The downside is there are students put into intervention who do not really need the extra tutoring. A better job needs to be done of organizing which students are put into intervention. It also seems as if the underclassmen are being forgotten, as they do not even receive a little freedom. They remain in classrooms all week, with nothing to do. Changes should be made to ensure the needs of all students are being met.