Students Voice Their Opinions on Advisory

Every Freedom High school student is assigned an advisory for their high school career where they collaborate with their peers and learn life lessons from their instructors. However, FHS students have a variety of opinions on whether or not they believe advisory is helpful or not.

“I think that the goal of advisory is to help students connect meaningfully with their peers while also creating another safe environment for each student,” said senior Simone Rao.

During each advisory class, students are taught about a range of lessons by their instructors, with a major emphasis on mental health. However, they are also taught about major things such as cultural holidays, the importance of being an honorable student and other school related topics. Sometimes there are also interactive activities where students can collaborate with their peers, like trivia.

“In my classroom, a lot of these lessons on mental health are conveyed through short lectures, so sometimes the best way to participate is to simply listen with an open mind and avoid causing distractions,” said sophomore Shehab Salem.

Many lessons can appear very similar, causing students to feel as if they are continually learning the same material. The lessons also provide a large overview of the topic, but do not go very much in-depth. This may make it difficult for students to gain much from these lessons.

“The topics of the advisory lessons can be very repetitive as, in my personal experience, the same topics come up each year and are taught extremely similarly,” Rao said.

Many students grow bored as the lessons continue to repeat. Some teachers enforce strict policies requiring students to participate and be attentive during advisory. This includes

“no-phone” or homework policies, annoying and frustrating many students view advisory as a class to relax in.

“Allowing the students more freedom in advisory rather than forcing a lesson on them will make advisory a lot more relaxing for the students simply looking to take a small break before their next block,” Salem said.

Before the pandemic occurred in 2020, Freedom High School structured advisory differently. On Tuesday, the teachers would teach the advisory lessons, and on Friday it was treated as a study hall where students can interact with their friends or participate in clubs. When students came back to school during 2021, FHS altered the structure so that both days there would be lessons, as well as morning announcements and broadcast on Friday.

“I enjoy the more interactive lessons [how it is now] because they are more engaging. However, I did like how the second advisory of the week was always a study hall when I was a freshman. It gave me time not only to catch up on my work but also to connect with my peers in a more sociable manner,” Rao said.

FHS freshman also experienced a change in how advisory is done, as it is structured differently at J. Michael Lunsford. At JML, advisory is before the first block everyday and focused on doing more interactive activities rather than lessons.

“Advisory in middle school was definitely made to be more about having fun than learning. We did more charity stuff in middle school than we do now,” said freshman Bailey Clark.

While FHS freshmen experienced a change in how advisory is structured, high school advisory allows them to meet new students who they can develop bonds with and learn valuable lessons that will benefit them throughout their life.