Students at Summit High School are now required to take an advisory class each day between second and third period, intended to spread information to students as well as support their futures. On paper this seems like a good addition to our schedule, but in reality, most students feel like it is a waste of time.
The beginning of October marks about a month into the school year, and some students say they have not been learning anything during advisory.
“For the most part, students already know most of the information that’s being provided by the slideshows and the teachers,” said sophomore Jake Mastalir.
This is assuming teachers even go through the slides during class. Students reported that some teachers went through slides, some didn’t and some would just put them on in the background without the class paying attention.
The majority of the time, the students in advisory are not engaged or listening anyway. Without grades or real assignments, students have no reason to pay attention in class.
“Nobody’s really engaged in my class,” said sophomore Wilhelm Jaimeson. “Everybody just does their own thing.”
It seems like this is the situation for every class. Advisory is just wasting everyone’s time. Teachers tend to agree as well; most students say their teachers disagree with advisory or don’t necessarily like it.
“My teacher is very open about [how much she dislikes advisory],” said Jaimeson. “She admits she thinks it’s pointless.”
On the bright side, there are definitely some positives that we get from advisory.
“A pro to advisory is that we have shorter classes,” said Wesley Cottrell, a sophomore. “It makes the day feel a little easier.”
Many students agreed that they preferred this year’s schedule over last year’s, mainly because of the shorter classes. Another positive aspect of advisory is that it gives extra time for students to get their homework done throughout the day. Time during advisory when students are not learning can be used for other school work.
Another potential pro to advisory, dubbed “access time,” was introduced starting on Tuesday, Oct. 14. On Tuesdays and Thursdays moving forward, students will be able to attend other classes or clubs during advisory time. While students aren’t sure what this will look like yet, staff members hope for it to be a good way for students to get help in classes and be a part of clubs and extracurriculars at Summit. Other high schools in Central Oregon already have advisory and so these could be good examples for Summit’s future.
So far, advisory has been a waste of time for students and looked at negatively by most. But with Tuesdays and Thursdays being changed, and other potential changes in the future, advisory could end up being good for students at Summit despite its rough start.
