Despite us not having an advisory this year, this is not permanent and we are going to have it next year. Advisory next year will be very different, where in previous years advisory consisted of checking in and checking out and using the time to fix grades as needed, the 2021-2022 year advisory is going to be a half hour mandatory class.

This year a group of teachers gathered to discuss advisory for next year. What would it entail? How long would it be? Is it even necessary? Almost all the teachers voted that it was a good idea to bring advisory back.

Due to Skyline sharing three teachers next year with Idaho Falls High School, next year’s advisory is going to be between 2nd and 3rd period for half an hour, two times a week. The reasoning is due to when I.F. holds its advisory. Because so many students skipped advisory in previous years to gain access to a longer lunch, the teachers also believe this scheduling, along with it being a mandatory class, will force more students to actively participate in it.

Advisory next year will be used for a number of reasons. Not only will it serve as a study hall, but it will also be used to post announcements that typically would take place in English class. Some teachers are even excited to have an opportunity to use the time for club meetings.

An anonymous source stated that even though they know some advisory teachers are excited about the situation, they don’t know how useful it will really be to the average student. According to them, they found that this form of advisory doesn’t really work with older students. Even if specific activities are planned, older students don’t care enough to participate. They believe that advisory will probably end up being used as a time to do homework and will eventually completely fall apart.

Personally, I feel like the kids who skipped advisory in previous years will still continue to ditch it. I’m pretty sure that those students were the ones who skip class in general, so stating that advisory is mandatory won’t make them care anymore about it. Another thing I think is that even if advisory teachers try to do anything fun, nobody will care. I remember the start of my freshman year where they tried to make advisory a mandatory thing (only for the freshmans.) We did worksheets on personal growth, learned about how to create a goal, took a quiz to determine our learning style, and ultimately did everything we did in middle school advisory. It felt like a punishment and because it was stuff I had already done, it was pointless as well.

In the end, I understand what the teachers were going for, but they didn’t consider it enough and missed the point. Advisory would be useful for giving us a specific time to help with our grades and it would be nice to have a time where they give out important information. However, I think they’re doing it wrong. I don’t want to go through freshmen advisory again, but next year has been determined and there’s no going back.