For the 2020-2021 school year, MHS implemented a new Wednesday schedule, introducing a mandatory advisory period from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. before independent work and office hours from 9:00 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. In an Aug. 18, 2020 email to MHS students and parents, Principal Francis Rojas said that during the advisory period, “students will meet with their Period 3 teacher for social-emotional learning and other school wide activities. … Attendance will be taken.”
According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, the goal of social-emotional learning is to “promote students’ self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, relationship, and responsible decision-making skills; and improve student attitudes and beliefs about self, others, and school.” Social-emotional learning programs can help promote students’ academic achievement and positive behavior. Especially during distance learning, it is admirable of the administration to continue to prioritize the social-emotional well-being of students, and Wednesday advisory periods hold great potential.
To gather student opinions, The Union sent out a survey regarding the Wednesday advisory periods and received 210 responses. Although 68.6% of respondents said they paid attention during the advisory period, 51.4% did not find the period useful, while 29.5% percent found it somewhat useful, and 19% found it useful. 31.9% of respondents said their teachers used advisory periods for non-academic social-emotional learning all the time, while 48.6% said their teachers incorporated social-emotional learning sometimes, and 19.5% said their teachers did not incorporate social-emotional learning at all.
127 students responded to the survey’s open-ended question, “Why do you or why do you not find the advisory useful? What changes would you make to the advisory period?” Many students commented particularly on the timing and length of the advisory period. Some found it difficult to engage in social-emotional learning so early in the morning, explaining that the early start time of the advisory period prevented them from having the energy to socialize and engage with their teachers and peers. Others thought the 30-minute advisory period was too long, suggesting that it be reduced to 15 minutes or just five minutes. However, a few students found the early start time beneficial because it incentivized them to wake up and start their day earlier.
Many students also commented on the type of activities organized during advisory periods. Most students’ teachers discussed upcoming school events, assignments, and assessments, while some also chose to discuss current events. In addition, many respondents saw the advisory period as redundant since the announcements about school events, assignments, and assessments are usually already emailed to students and could be easily read if posted on Google Classroom. Some also felt unwilling to talk to people they barely knew and cited this as the reason for the lack of social-emotional learning during the advisory period. Respondents shared that it was difficult to bond with their classmates in a meaningful way due to some of the large class sizes. Some students also wanted advisory periods to be focused more on social-emotional learning, non-academic activities, and announcements since that is the stated purpose of advisory periods.
Moving forward, there are a variety of options MHS can explore to enhance the efficacy of Wednesday advisory periods to best support students’ social-emotional learning. Some students suggested introducing meditation and relaxation exercises to help students bond and support their mental health. Others were interested in social activities such as trivia Kahoot games and allowing students to choose to join breakout rooms to make friends and talk to new people, better simulating the in-person social experience. These activities would likely be more engaging and beneficial than simply going over announcements. However, some teachers understandably do not have the bandwidth to accommodate such activities during the pandemic, and this could contribute to further teacher burnout. Alternatively, since many students feel that the advisory period is too early and find it difficult to engage in activities, the advisory period could also be pushed back or used for attendance only.